


Crossroad

by Egle_js



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awesome Bulma Briefs, Bedroom Sex, Complicated Relationships, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Sex, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Genius Bulma Briefs, Girl Power, Plot Twists, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex, Sexual Tension, Shower Sex, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vegeta (Dragon Ball) Being an Asshole, Vegeta being Vegeta (Dragon Ball), Violence, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:02:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 41,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egle_js/pseuds/Egle_js
Summary: After a bloody war, the Earth warriors were massacred by Freeza's troops. The resistance, led by a blue-haired scientist, opposes one last, desperate attempt to rescue as many humans as possible with Capsule Corp. spacecraft. Vegeta, leader of Freeza's army, is on its way to conquer the Earth. The price to pay for the survivors will be high.Alternative Universe - Complicated Plot!
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 87
Kudos: 158





	1. CHAPTER 1

**Author's Note:**

> BETA-READER INTRO  
> I did not think I'd ever write an intro to Egle again. Instead in mid-April I was informed of her new obsession: the fanfics of Bulma and Vegeta (where this thing came from continues to remain a mystery). A month later, I get the first 3 pages of this story to read.  
> Oh .. I didn't believe it either, but in less than 15 days the epilogue was delivered to me. So here I am, writing the stupidest intro ever to reassure you that yes, the FF is over and yes it is actually the best Bulma x Vegeta I have ever read.

She grabbed the table, squeezing his eyes tightly, the ceiling crumbled partially overhead. Her chest hurt from anxiety. She settled on her legs, ignoring the constant roars.

"They are arriving"

"I know, dad. I must finish the diagnostics” she replied, continuing to pound on the keys furiously. The underground division of Capsule Corp. would not have held up. It was only a matter of time before ...

Bulma sighed. She wished Goku was there. The image of her body torn and carried in triumph by Freeza's troops blurred her mind for a moment. Many had died. Virtually everyone except Krillin.

Bulma glanced at her friend who was helping Capsule Corp.'s latest employees to board the ship. Many had died, including Yamcha, but it was Goku who missed her most of all. He would have found a solution, he would have smiled at her in that incredible silly way and told her that it would be all right, because Goku was like that. He really believed it. Expressed by him would not have been so stupid or naive.

"I also release sector 3 drones," she said. The cup of coffee vibrated over the desk and then crashed to the ground. Goodbye to the last decent coffee of her life. She continued to work frantically, while the hangar doors opened, revealing a portion of the clear sky. "Get on the spaceship, Dad," she ordered. A frown scowled her eyebrows.

"Baby…”

“We've already talked about it, Dad. You take control of the spacecraft _from the inside_ and check that everything is all right. I gain some time until we are ready to go. It will only take a few minutes; I will join you shortly. Now go and stop wasting time "she concluded, getting back to work. Not a greeting, not a tear, not a last hug. Her father did not have to know that she was going to stay on the ground.

After the best warriors on Earth had been defeated by Freeza's mercenaries, they had endured for weeks ... months ... building a network of scientists and human warriors ... who worked in the shadows using the most powerful weapon that mankind had ever had: intelligence.

An army of drones had engaged in battle against Freeza's troops, while the resistance organized the departure of the survivors to unknown worlds. All the technological power of Capsule Corp. had been converted back in record time to build lifeboats, but in the end Freeza's men had found them.

That would have been the last spaceship from the planet. Two hundred people, provided for six months, a renewable and almost unlimited source of energy. The last survivors of a dying and enslaved planet.

She raised her head for a moment only to catch a last image of her father walking down the access ramp. "2 minutes" she whispered, while the metal door behind her was hit by a shock wave.

 _Resist ... resist, please ..._ prayed silently.

The sound of explosions was getting closer.

"They all went up"

“You too, Krillin. Get in, "she said, checking the monitors, which only returned images of destruction. It had all been blown away by Freeza's troops. Bulma barely curved her lips. Certainly, such tenacious resistance was not expected.

_Welcome to earth, assholes ..._

A strong explosion pushed her against the control panel, a hot wave on her back that took her breath away. The spherical drones, the last defensive bulwark, rose with a humming sound. Bulma thought absently that she should have found a solution to that annoying noise.

She closed the ship's door. The engines started, raising dust and rubble. She continued not to look up as Krillin launched himself against Freeza's troops behind him.

She did not allow herself to think that a few seconds separated her from death. Curiously, she thought she had not even told her mother to take a warmer shawl. It was cold in space. She blinked a few times, while the spacecraft rose, swinging, between the narrow walls of the hangar.

She turned to the door in time to see a large monkey-tailed warrior grab Krillin by the neck and lift him off the ground. His big hand completely closed her friend's throat. The last drone fell to the ground with a metallic clang, the circuits obscenely exposed as an operation that went wrong. Bulma grabbed the edge of the control panel behind her with her fingers. A patina of cold sweat beaded her forehead, while a warrior slowly advanced in the hangar. He was shorter than the others with impossible black hair shot upwards. The others turned to him, waiting for his nod ... It was clear who was in charge and it was clear what he would do ...

Time seemed to dilate as Bulma looked into those dark eyes.

The spacecraft was moving away, but not fast enough, not enough to be out of range. They would have killed them all and even the last hoped to take back the Earth would have vanished with them.

"Bul-ma"

A croaky whisper left Krillin's cyanotic lips.

Bulma did not think. She did not think about death. She did not.... She thought of nothing but time ...

_Gain some time…_

She turned and pressed a huge, red button on the control dial. A sudden movement of air. Long, strong fingers tightened around her wrist. But it was late ... it was too late ...

The dark-eyed warrior had perhaps understood her intentions and moved quickly, but he had not been fast enough.

She first saw the light, a dazzling light that converged towards them in an unreal silence. All explosive charges had fired at the same time, releasing enough power to shave off all that remained of the Capsule Corp. and anything that was less than two kilometres away.

 _The captain apologized for the turbulence_ , she thought confusedly. The floor trembled hard under her feet. She felt her legs collapsed slightly under her weight; the walls of the hangar disappeared into the flames. She could almost feel the heat burning her face skin, but she realized that she incredible safe… at least for now.

She heard a low, animal growl near her ear. She turned to the warrior. His fingers still anchored to her wrist.

_He is protecting himself from the explosion._

And once again the thoughts ran almost slower than her body, while she hooked an arm around the man's neck and pressed herself frantically against him. With the strength of despair and the burning desire to survive, she let the strength of the warrior completely envelop her. Lashes of heat hit her back, but they were far away ... too far away to hurt her ...

_Live, Bulma ... do anything to survive ..._

Finally, time seemed to regain its size and run again, investing both with the force of a nuclear bomb. Bulma narrowed her eyes tightly, feeling the floor disappear from under her feet. The stranger's arm surrounded her waist as he raised both high, well above the flames. Fresh air filled her lungs, insinuating into her hair and clothes. Below her a hell of fire _._

 _He will let me fall ... he took me with him only to not waste time ..._ she thought confusedly, staring the man's eyes.

The features of his face seemed carved from stone. A bronze stone chiselled with a steady hand. Bulma felt the fear squeezed her stomach, her fingertips brushing the stranger's neck almost unconsciously. Their breaths dangerously close. There was something incredibly intimate about being several meters high, clinging like that, like two lovers surprised by the first light of dawn.

Bulma swallowed empty, barely moving her face away, while realizing that if he had not made her fall yet, he probably wouldn't have done it later. She clanged to that thought and she looked up.

A tiny glow signalled that the spacecraft was leaving the Earth's atmosphere.

She had saved them ... she had saved them all.

Except herself.

***

Bulma blinked a few times. Her mouth was dry. She brought her knees a little closer to her chest, surrounding them with her arms. After the stranger brought her back to earth, she was handcuffed and taken to what appeared to be a collection centre for prisoners and resources.

They had collected her details and then told her to wait together with other technicians. They all wore the Capsule Corp's overalls. They were the ones who had failed to embark because they were in another location, almost a hundred kilometres away and which had fallen three days earlier. They were the last ones; the war was over. No more ambushes in the middle of the night, sabotage, drones ... nothing at all. Earth had finally surrendered to Freeza's troops.

“You three are assigned to maintain the new Freeza base on Earth. Wait for me here. You,” continued the bald warrior, grabbing her by the arm and making her rise badly from the ground. "Assigned to Prince Vegeta's spacecraft," he concludes, putting a soft package in her hand.

Bulma touched it trying to understand what it contained, while Peeled Head dragged her towards a spaceship. “Prince Vegeta wants to leave immediately. Get on board.” he ordered, pushing her down the ramp.

Bulma thought for a moment to throw herself on the ground to grab at least one stone, something that reminded her of her home, but the ramp began to rise as she slowly proceeded inward.

Her head throbbed from spending too many hours in the sun, her mouth and throat were burning. She would have given anything for a glass of fresh water.

She took a deep breath and she made her way to the seats. The stranger who saved her from the explosion was sitting in the pilot's seat. Even at that distance, Bulma could easily understand that he was checking the instruments for take-off. He still wore the armour and uniform with which he had raided the Capsule Corp. One side of his armour was semi-destroyed, with a large circular hole that revealed a wound in the dark skin of the side. Who knows if it was one of his drones that made it ...?

Bulma hugged the package that Peeled Head had given her and collapsed more than sitting in one of the seats.

 _Do not pass out_ she ordered herself, fiercely planting her nails in the arm. _You don't know what could happen if you pass out_

She looked around trying to memorize as many details as possible. There were no bedrooms, there was ... nothing ... only those few seats, a sort of huge incubator and a huge empty space. A wave of sickness makes her vision blur for a few seconds ...

_Stay awake ... At least you can be conscious when he will rape you._

Fear knotted her stomach violently, causing her to shrink on herself. Was that why he hadn't killed her? To make her his sexual slave or something like that? That was what the winners of the wars did: they raided, slaughtered and raped. Would she end up in any category?

She moistened her lips with the tip of his tongue. Eyes on Vegeta's back.

"Belt" he growled, without turning around. Bulma obeyed, too frightened and distraught to do anything else. She fastened her seat belt, hearing the engines start. _Not to faint_ , she ordered herself again, while darkness obscured her sight. Desperately blinked, she bite her lower lip but slowly slipped into unconsciousness

It took her a few seconds to realize that she was still on Vegeta's spacecraft. A pained groan left her lips as she straightened up on the seat. She rubbed her neck, carefully moving her head from side to side. Bulma cautiously stood up, not trusting her legs completely. She wavered a moment. Her whole body urgently needed water. She looked around, identifying a porthole that overlooked the deep black of the space.

So, she left the Earth.

She wondered how long she had been unconscious. She checked her clothes. They looked fine. Vegeta hadn't touched her.

She ventured to take a few steps. No trace of Vegeta. She ran her hands over her arms, shivering, although it wasn't cold. It covered the distance that separated her from the large incubator she had noticed before losing consciousness. She placed her palms on the smooth surface, looking through the window on the top.

The warrior was immersed in a clear liquid, with a more gelatinous appearance than normal water. A respirator covered his mouth and nose. He was naked, except for a pair of shorts. Well-defined muscles ... tanned hands, broad shoulders. The chest crossed by an old wound that has now healed.

The strong jaw, the chin raised slightly in an arrogant pose…

He had a beautiful face. Not of common beauty, but surely that remained imprinted in mind. Bulma asked herself what would have happened if she had seen him by accident. Maybe on the street, while she went shopping. She probably would have turned to look at him. And maybe he would have done the same ...

When Vegeta snapped his eyes open, Bulma jumped back, as if she had been caught doing something forbidden. She continued to step back as the hatch lifted and Vegeta stepped out of the tub elegantly. He grabbed a towel and dried his hair, without looking at her.

He threw the towel on the ground before checking the control panel. Maybe he suspected that she ... but of course, how stupid. She could have checked the course or tampered with the spacecraft instead of staring at a half-naked man like a fool.

What the controllers gave him back seemed to satisfy him, because Vegeta finally turned to her. He took a few steps and she reflexively backed away. She clenched her fists tight, forcing herself to look him in the eye. If he wanted to rape her, it would not have made it easy ... even if he could kill her with one hand.

Vegeta stopped, examining her face carefully. Bulma felt her breathing speed up as she remembered seeing that face up close, feeling his warm breath on her skin ...

Vegeta watched her again for a few seconds before pressing a button. Immediately a compartment opened in the floor. Bulma recognized one of her semi-destroyed drones. She did not move a muscle, still too scared. Was it a trap?

"It's yours?" Vegeta asked, without getting any closer.

Bulma nodded. She tried to articulate few words, but her throat was too dry. She had to clear it a few times before the voice came out normally.

"I built them in my father's company"

 _To fight you bastards_ she added mentally.

Her response seemed to satisfy the warrior, who nodded.

"Now you will build them for me," he said. "They are an interesting toy for training," he added after a few moments.

Bulma took a deep breath and move toward the table. She picked up one of the mechanical parts of the drone, checking the memory card, before turning to Vegeta. Her first impulse had been to tell him to go to hell, but she remembered what she thought when he saved her from the flames

_... Do anything to survive ..._

"I cannot"

Immediately a shadow obscured Vegeta's features.

_Prince ... they called him Prince Vegeta ..._

“The components of the drone are made from specific materials, such as silicon. Common materials or that can be easily produced on Earth "she explained, making a vague gesture towards the porthole. “From what I can see, we are no longer on my planet. I don't know where you are taking me or if there will be materials that I can use to ... "

She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. Her always too restless mind was already finding solutions, based on what he had seen on the ship.

"I will need machinery to assemble it, it's not something I can do by hand ... computer to program it ..." she went on, putting the drone back on the table.

The fact that he wanted something tangible and practical from her was good. Building a drone ... yes, she could do it. It was something that could have kept her alive. At least for a while.

She turned to face Vegeta again. "I want some water," she declared, proving more confident than she felt.

_And take a shower and put on clean clothes, she added mentally but I don't want to give you any suggestions._

Vegeta didn't move, he didn't even change his expression.

"I can't build anything if I die of hunger and thirst first"

Bulma knew she should have used another tone, a more conciliatory one, but she just could not. Her father was right: sooner or later her temper would get her in big trouble. Bigger than it was currently in? Maybe.

Vegeta kept on not answering but started walking towards her again. Bulma wanted to keep her resolve to be brave, but her stupid legs betrayed her by dragging her frantically backwards. The heart beat madly ...

The impact with the metal wall of the spacecraft made her gasp.

_Here we go ... that's how ..._

She squinted hard when Vegeta stretched out an arm towards her.

 _Please don’t do it, please don't do it ..._ she begged internally, but nothing happened.

Vegeta didn't touch her. Bulma raised her eyelids just to see him stretch a glass of water. Some shelves had appeared from the wall of the spacecraft. He probably had compartments everywhere that could be opened if necessary or closed when the warrior wanted more space to train.

Bulma eyed the glass of water, her mouth and throat sore, but she was still too afraid of him to do anything.

Vegeta carefully placed the glass on the shelf, continuing to look at it. He did not move but he did touch her either.

Bulma grabbed the glass and greedily took a few sips. The water was good and fresh and made her inexplicably cry.

_Don't drink too fast, you'll throw up everything._

_It will be all right, Briefs._

_Keep calm._

She pushed back a couple of treacherous tears as she took her time to run out of water. She asked for more and Vegeta refilled the glass before placing it on the shelf for the second time.

Bulma distractedly realized that he was treating her like a wild animal, found injured on the roadside. He was close to her, so that she got used to his presence, without forcing any kind of contact. She didn't know if it made her cry even more or if it made her angry.

She also finished the second glass of water and then ran her hands through her hair, sticky with dust and sweat. Fortunately, there were no mirrors to ... She held her breath, trembling when Vegeta passed her.

He stopped a few steps behind her. Although she had never been able to sense _KI_ , she distinctly felt his presence near her. A mixture of warmth and strength.

She needed all the courage she had for not going a few meters away.

“We will arrive at a Freeza’s base in three days. You will build drones and, if you are capable of, a new armour or whatever I want "

Vegeta let the silence thicken between them, so that she fully absorbed his words.

"Believe it or not, I don't rape women," he added, before walking away.

It was the only words he said to her for the rest of the trip.

He never touched her.


	2. CHAPTER 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma tries to adapt to her new life at the base, between Saiayn who train half naked and a plan of revolt that begins to emerge in her brilliant mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I'm not very good at writing introductions .... so I'll leave you to the chapter immediately :-) Enjoy it.

They had landed at night. Bulma had imagined a super-technological base where everything was clean and aseptic, almost as if everthing had just left the factory, like the setting of her father's old science fiction movies.

The Freeza base actually had a headquarters, built on several floors, which seemed technologically more advanced than anything Bulma had ever imagined, but the vast majority of the buildings were sheds with machinery from all over the known universe, operated by aliens of any shape and size In a mixture of idioms and sounds.

She soon discovered that the "staff" employed by Freeza was divided into mercenaries and slaves, who were assigned either to repair ships and armaments or to become slaughter meat. There were different hierarchies between warriors and scientists and mechanics based on their usefulness.

To a separate department belonged all those who were employed in work not related to the conquest and destruction: cleaners, kitchens, laundry ...

She had been assigned a level IV, which placed her at the bottom of the food chain of technicians, she had only a special delegation to satisfy the needs of Prince Vegeta.

They had given her a work suit, not entirely unlike the Capsule Corp.'s one, which was contained in the package that Peeled Head had given her before embarking on Vegeta's ship, a ramshackle and incredibly warm accommodation and an assignment: she could not approach the most sophisticated machinery, but she could perform simple repairs of the warriors' training rooms and of course _design_ her drones.

Someone else would have built them.

Almost six weeks had passed since she had arrived, and she hadn’t settled in yet. she missed Earth. She missed her family. Above all, she missed Goku. She missed him like oxygen. She imagined seeing him turn the corner, his silly smile, his hand to mess up impossible hair.

He had tried. Really. Her old friend had fought until the very end, but they were too many ... too strong ...

She closed her eyes, waiting for the machine to finish downloading the files from the system. It was a simple repair, which would not take more than a few minutes, but she tried to show herself a little slower and more indolent than she was. She had to go under the radar as much as possible ... not to notice ... seem harmless. She stifled a chuckle, closing the control panel.

Harmless. She was human and female. They already saw her as a useless being.

All but one.

It was Vegeta who had made sure that she didn't have access to the most sophisticated computers, that she was assigned to the team of one of the most suspicious department heads. Vegeta didn't trust her.

And he was right, because a thought had continued to macerate in her mind since she arrived on the planet: The Dragon Balls. She had to bring Goku back to life.

The earthlings had been destroyed when Piccolo died, but the universe was large ... it was possible that there were others ... She had to collect information discreetly and then she could bring Goku and the others back to life, reunite the team ... and kill that bastard.

Bulma bit her lower lip. She had to be patient and work in the shadows. Most of the slaves and prisoners were afraid, often engaged in alcohol or betting to stifle memories. Too grudging but even more afraid to do something. Still, there had to be someone like her ... an ally ...

She slid a bolt into his pocket carelessly, then picked up the rest of the tools. She took off her gloves, taking the toolbox and the bag.

"All done," she announced, overcoming the warrior eager to resume his training. She carried the tools into the warehouse and stamped the end of the shift with the bracelet that had been put on her wrist. She was about to leave when she saw Vegeta in his training suit. The usual angry frown to obscure his gaze.

"How's it going with the new drone?" she asked him.

They usually only spoke to each other strictly: he ordered, she answered in monosyllables. The Saiyan warrior stopped, a shadow of suspicion darkening his gaze. Bulma moistened her lips. It was flattering to think he thought she was so dangerous.

“I have increased the reaction rate. On paper it had to be perfect, but I don't know at the executive level if ...

"Barely acceptable" he growled and started walking again.

Bulma knew it was a bad idea, but she followed him down the corridor to the room he used to train. She had strengthened it, increasing its resistance and equipping it with different drones. Obviously in secret: Vegeta did not want to share his "toys" with other warriors and risk losing his leadership. Nonetheless, they still did not bring her closer to anything more dangerous than a wrench.

"Can I watch you while you train?" she asked casually.

"Why?"

"Well I could understand what you need"

Vegeta sighed loudly. He was annoyed, but he knew it was a good idea. Since her arrival, the improvements had become evident. She did an excellent job with the least of possibilities. He knew it well.

The warrior gave her a magnetic card, attached to a chain. “You can go into the control room and watch from one of the monitors. I'll leave it on. "

Bulma smiled broadly, taking the card and turning it over her fingers like the most precious of treasures. Vegeta must have read something in her expression because he suddenly grabbed the buckle of the bag to hold it. Bulma winced. The old fear grew in a single wave of panic that confused her mind. She could play to be subversive, but her life was still hanging by a thread.

The warrior seemed to notice her concern because he immediately left the bag. Maybe he was about to apologize, or maybe not, but he took a step away.

Bulma had noticed he never touched her, he never tried to prevent her from leaving if she wanted to... He never physically dominated her ... like the first days when she had become a prisoner ...

“I'll check the history. If I see an access to where you shouldn't ... "

Bulma smiled. Her smile was halfway between the insinuating and the flirtatious. "I promise I'll only look at you," she said, not realizing how much malice the sentence had loaded.

Vegeta watched her for a moment longer, without changing his expression.

Not even a small nod.

Finally, he turned and closed the door behind him.

Bulma was not a fool. She knew Vegeta would check, so she just went to the monitor room. She glanced distractedly at the Saiyan who was massacring himself and slaughtered her drones, before browsing through all the other videos in search of something that could get her attention.

_Think, Briefs._

She stopped on the monitor with the repair shed and started studying. She had to get tools to build something and get in touch with the escaped Earthlings with the certainty of not being discovered. She could even get into the communication system of the Freeza army and find out their moves in advance. She mentally jotted down entrances, exits, security systems _._

The shift was almost over and the next day would have been a rest, so all the technicians and mechanics were more listless and distracted. She tried to memorize as many things as she could before focusing again on Vegeta.

She left the thought of the warehouse to work in the background, watching the warrior being wounded by one of the drones on his shoulder.

She had to find something new to offer him or he would understand that she had focused on something else. She bit her lips, watching him collapse on the ground. The tense muscles, the sweaty body ... If she had not known Goku and had not seen him train for years, barely naked, she could have thought that a body like Vegeta's could not exist. He had the same physical presence as Goku - except for the height - but the Saiyan prince possessed something feral ... animalistic ... something that made her lower belly react directly.

 _You suck, girl_ she told herself, feeling only partially guilty.

She should have missed Yamcha. His death had torn her heart, but no more than Goku's, indeed ... They had been together for many years, but the feeling had faded ... they had fun together, but love him? She loved him, but not ... not the way it should have been.

She stood up, stretching lazily, before pressing the intercom button.

"I understand what the problem is," she announced, distracting Vegeta and allowing one of the drones to hurt him in the shoulder again. The warrior growled, incinerating him shortly thereafter.

_Oops, my fault._

He turned to where the video camera should have been. His chest rose and fell quickly following the altered rhythm of breathing. Bulma wondered what it felt like to get her hands on those tense muscles ... on the hot and wet skin of the Saiyan ...

The reaction time is calculated on a different material. That's why the drone is so slow. I told those idiots to ... "

"Can you make it more efficient?" the warrior cut her off abruptly.

Bulma nodded before realizing he couldn't see her. "I could ... but I'm not sure the technicians will do what my project plans. The drone should already ... "

“I will give you access to the laboratory. Now stop interrupting my training "

Bulma ended the communication without saying goodbye. Things were starting to improve.

***

She checked the timer and silently released her breath when all the lights went out at the same time. She leaned against the wall and walked down the corridor. The streetlamps outside drew orange shadows on the floor.

She slipped the card into the reader and unlocked the door. The metallic snap rang out like a gunshot in the silence.

 _I just need a transformer. Even an older generation will be fine_ , she thought, sneaking into the lab. She put the bag on the table and went to the closet where they kept all the waste, which could be reused ... with a little imagination.

She scanned the contents of various boxes when voices from the corridor froze the blood in her veins. She quickly closed the closet and threw herself on the ground.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck ..._

She crawled under the table, feeling a trickle of cold sweat run from her hairline. She closed her eyes tightly when the footsteps approached the door.

“The recruits were sent out on a reconnaissance, Prince Vegeta. They will be back just before dawn. "

“No rest for the next 48 hours. I want you to keep them awake "

"Yes, sir"

Bulma pressed her hands to her mouth as soon as she heard them stop in front of the door. Her heart was beating wildly. She was all too aware of what her fate would have been if only they had surprised her in there with stolen material.

"Fuck" she hissed, looking at the duffel bag abandoned on the table. She looked up at the frosted glass of the door, painfully recognizing Vegeta's profile.

"Sir?" hesitantly asked one of the soldiers who was with him. Bulma retreated under the table, trying to become part of the shadows.

_Please go ahead ... go to train ... go do anything, but do not come in here._

“You go ahead. I'll be right there”

Bulma stuck her nails in her palms as the door opened and the warrior entered the laboratory. Vegeta took a few steps, flooding the whole room with his magnetic energy.

_It looks like the Jurassic Park scene ... the velociraptor has just entered the kitchen._

_He will eat me soon._

Bulma forced herself to remain perfectly still and slow her breath, wondering if he could perceive his presence despite not having a warrior's KI. She bit her lip hard, watching Vegeta's legs move closer to the table. After a moment she heard him open the bag. A metallic noise, things that clashed against each other.

_He is rifling through it._

_He will understand that it is mine. He has seen it on me several times. I can't hope to be so insignificant ... he always remembers everything he sees._

Bulma looked at the Saiyan's legs. She could have touched it if only she had stretched an arm.

_He knows I'm here. Now he will bend over and drag me out ..._

Bulma made a small cry when Vegeta suddenly threw the bag on the floor and then kicked it next to her under the table.

"Prince," said a voice from the corridor shortly after. The noise of the door that opened "They are waiting for you upstairs".

"I'm coming," Vegeta replied, turning off the lab lights.

Bulma heard him stop for a moment in the doorway before leaving.

***

She inhaled deeply, embracing her whole apartment with her eyes. The times of Capsule Corp. were long gone, but Bulma tried to look on the bright side. She was alive and as long as she was alive, she could fight. She spread the blanket which smelled good of freshly made laundry on the bed when someone knocked on the door.

_Fuck, it's Vegeta. He came to ask me what the fuck was I doing in the lab in the middle of the night._

She pressed her ear against the wooden panel, trying to figure out who was on the other side.

_If it's him, he knows you're here. It is useless to postpone the inevitable._

Bulma took a deep breath and opened, ready to meet her destiny.

"Hi," said Maxx, one of the blue-skinned technicians who worked with her on the repair team for the training rooms. Tall. A few more limbs where there should have been only two arms, a set of horns on the top of the head, looked like some sort of oriental deity. “We're going out for a drink. Do you want to join us?"

Bulma nodded. "I'll take my jacket," she replied, trying to make the beat return to normal.

Somehow Maxx reminded her of Yamcha. They were self-conscious in the same way. She put on a jacket and followed Maxx until she reached another group of technicians. She knew almost all of them. Although she had promised herself to keep a low profile, she was immediately able to bond with others thanks to her technical preparation, which had served to solve more than one problem, and thanks to her propensity to spend time with people and the most disparate aliens.

Ten weeks had passed since she left Earth. Despite herself, she had continued to count them, but at that time she had managed to create herself if not a group of friends, at least a hodgepodge of aliens that made her feel less alone.

Freeza had destroyed or deprived their planets of freedom but he knew he had to keep them alive and somehow satisfied.

They had told her that for some time Freeza had kept technicians and mechanics in a condition of complete slavery, limiting personal freedoms and making life so unbearable that there had been a wave of suicides.

Fortunately for them, finding trained scientists was not as easy as one might think. The ships needed constant maintenance and the mercenaries had many requests that had to be satisfied in some way, so Freeza had preferred to loosen the surveillance a bit, giving them a life of fake freedom, barely bearable to survive but not so bad as to want to die or to be killed for an insurrection.

A series of shops had grown up around the houses, places where everyone could have a drink.

_Apparently, you move into the universe, but the rituals are always the same, Bulma thought._

"Did you hear about today's accident?" one of the girls asked casually, sipping a cocktail that Bulma found disgusting. She would have given a toe for an ice-cold beer.

"What accident?" she asked, stealing a slice of a strange-textured vegetable from the plate. _And also a pizza. Let's not forget the pizza ..._

"How can you not have heard anything?" Maxx replied, glancing at her.

She shrugged. “I soldered almost all day, wearing headphones. Then I went straight back to my apartment. What happened?"

“One of the training chambers literally exploded, partially involving the neighboring ones. Never seen a concentration of energy like that”

Bulma snorted slightly, munching the vegetables.

_Exalted fools._

"Has anyone been injured?" she asked.

The girl in front of her nodded, finishing her drink in one long sip. “Aren't you working for Prince Vegeta? It seems he is in a bad condition ... "

Bulma was petrified for a moment. The breath blocked in the throat. The stomach was tight. _So, in the end the idiot had managed to blow himself up,_ she thought, trying at least mentally to sound detached. But she couldn't.

"They put him in one of the healing capsules"

Bulma nodded. Her senses were muffled, her mind continued to grind thoughts. She hated it when it happened. When she couldn't turn it off ...

She got up so suddenly that she spilled a plate of vegetables covered in an orange sauce. "I forgot that tomorrow morning ..." she muttered, making the first excuse that had occurred to her.

Vegeta was injured and Vegeta was also her best chance not to die. She had given the madman everything he wanted: a heavier gravity than the other rooms, faster drones ... she was even working on a more resistant armour ... he was her best chance to stay alive in that damned place.

_But if he killed himself with his own hands ..._

_Maybe if he doesn't recover, he'll never come to ask me what I was doing in the lab at night. Maybe I could get away with it ... so why does thinking that he might die make me sick?_

_I would almost ... yes, I would almost like him to recover ... I'm so stupid._

Bulma took a deep breath, running her palms over her arms.

She had to see him.

She pulled a magnetic card out of her shirt. It wasn't exactly like Vegeta's, but it was a copy efficient enough to have access to several areas of the building that should be closed for her.

She knew where the surveillance cameras were. She entered and left the labs in the middle of the night, stealing disused machinery, small electronic parts ...

_Don't do it, girl. You are crazy._

_You will find another way to stay alive._

_And then you can't do anything for him anyway._

_He is precious to Freeza, they won't let him die._ she kept repeating herself as she slipped the card into the reader.

The door opened with a metallic clang. Bulma walked quickly down the corridor, slipping into one of the laboratories. That part of the building was not monitored. She approached one of the computers by unlocking it with the passwords of one of the technicians who worked on the night shift.

_A small drop in tension should bring the repair team out, but since everyone is out drinking they should call those who are sober._

Bulma picked up the card and hurried to the exit. She hid the counterfeit card under her shirt before reaching the training room area.

"Blue" she heard herself called. It was impossible not to recognize the voice of his foreman.

"I heard there was an accident. I was going to check the damage of ... "

"Forget it. We need a team in the medical sector. We have registered a failure. You and Knagg go out. Report in an hour. "

Bulma tried not to smile too openly. She already worked with Knagg several times. It was an old fagot from one of the most remote planets from the known area. He hated Freeza and all the bastards who worked for him and he did nothing to hide it. Despite this, nobody considered him a threat and his mumbles were tolerated good-naturedly. Bulma took the tool bag and reached the infirmary building.

Knagg started to analyse the console. She said she had to go to the bathroom and quickly left.

_It's a bad, bad idea, girl._

She took a deep breath checking every door. At that time, the ward was deserted. She met a couple of nurses who ignored her.

First rule of her father: if you must do something illegal, do it in the sunlight. Walk confidently as if you have every right to be there.

She froze when she saw an active healing capsule in one of the chambers.

_Don’t do it, girl._

She ignored any good intentions and slipped into the room. She approached the capsule silently, looking at the sleeping warrior. His body was pounded by many injuries and the water around him had a more turbid colour.

 _Fuck…_ Bulma thought, touching the glass with her fingertips. _I almost killed you ... I need you alive, Vegeta._

But it wasn't really true. She would have survived at any cost, but the thought of having killed him was not right. She checked the parameters set on the machine. Vegeta's appearance was...

She looked back at him.

Well, he looked shitty, but she knew the Saiyans had enormous recovery skills. She lightly stroked the glass. Cold, she felt only the cold of the machinery. Still, she knew that Vegeta's skin was warm ... His skin was alive ...

The memory of her fingers caressing the back of his neck made her suddenly waver. His strong body pressed against hers. His tense muscles when he trained ... how many times in the last few days, she entered the office with monitors with the excuse of checking the operation of drones. Bulma had studied everything on the functioning of the base ... yet she had also looked at Vegeta. She had watched him train hard and learned to decipher his smallest facial expression.

She was about to leave when Vegeta's eyes widened.

Bulma remained petrified, her eyes fixed on Vegeta's dark ones. A small change in his features.

It was only a moment before the warrior lost consciousness again.

_He saw me ..._

Bulma swallowed hard, before getting out of there as quickly as possible.

***

She had waited for his visit for days. She knew that he had recovered after forty-eight hours in the healing capsule, but Vegeta had not shown up. He hadn't even shown up in the training room. Bulma again used her counterfeit card to check flight plans, but his spacecraft was still in the hangar.

 _You look like a stalker,_ she told herself, finishing fixing one of the armour. She exhaled deeply, running an arm over her forehead. She checked the watch, pulling the pencil out of her hair and leaving it free to fall on her shoulders. Her hair had grown a lot, but she couldn't exactly go to her trusted hairdresser.

She collected her things and prepared to leave the laboratory when she saw it. His figure completely filled the doorway. Somehow his confidence and strength made him seem more imposing than he actually was.

Bulma froze only a moment before putting on a mask halfway between indifference and surprise. "OH Vegeta, hi," she said, putting another pair of tools in her bag.

She jumped when she sensed Vegeta's presence beside her. Her hands were crossed by a tremor so strong that an iron tool fell on the floor. "I'm glad you're here ..." she went on, pretending indifference.

"Give it to me," Vegeta interrupted. Bulma looked down at his open palm.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, putting on the bag. She was about to pass it, when the Saiyan grabbed the strao on the bag and yanked it hard enough to let her leave. He opened it with a brusque gesture and began to rummage inside.

"What are you…"

Bulma didn't even have time to step back before the warrior froze her with his eyes. "I have seen you. In my room"

"I had to check a ..."

"And the other night and the one before ... and the one before either ... In the lab in the middle of the night."

Bulma swallowed empty. So, here we are. She had twice failed to kill Vegeta and he would have killed her eventually. She let out a small sigh, trying to make her legs stop shaking.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she said, hoping to sound convincing. She reached out to retrieve a screwdriver, when Vegeta closed his fingers on her wrist. An electric shock suddenly passed through her body ...

_He never touches me ..._

"Your luck and my tolerance are running out," he warned, approaching threateningly. His grasp was iron, but not painful.

Bulma swallowed empty, a shiver of fear dripped down her spine.

"Give it to me, woman, before you get yourself killed," the Saiyan growled darkly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bulma replied for the second time, appealing to all her courage to face him.

_Come on, kill me. But you will have to do it looking me in the eye._

"I know what you are ..."

"You don't know anything, Vegeta" she replied contemptuously, bending her arm and approaching him. Bulma felt him tighten his grip almost unconsciously.

_What do you want to do? Are you trying to intimidate me?_

_Because if you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it already._

_If you wanted to report or punish me because I secretly entered the labs, you would have already done so._

_You knew I was there ... you knew that the bag was mine and that I was under the table ..._

"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work," he replied, erasing the distance between their bodies. A hot shiver slid down from Bulma's spine, then spreading all over her.

Having Vegeta so close was ... there was something incredibly intimate with the way their bodies looked for each other. Like magnets unable to stay away.

_I ... I can't think if you look at me like that …_

"And you?" she suddenly replied "What are you trying to do with those workouts? Are you trying to kill yourself or ... “

Bulma stopped suddenly, the breath coming out of her lips quickly, while everything became clear in her mind without warning.

Like when she solved a complicated equation. When she understood the right procedure, and everything fell into place ... in order ... her mind was able to put order in the chaos of the world and in her own thoughts ...

"...Beat Freeza," she said in little more than a whisper.

Her heart began to beat faster. She would have doubted that she had been mistaken if Vegeta's expression hadn't changed so much and so suddenly. The grasp on her wrist became almost unbearable and for a second Bulma thought that he would seriously shatter it.

A tear of pain slipped from the corner of an eye and she hated herself for it. Vegeta followed the course with his eyes, before loosening the grip on her arm and then freeing her completely.

"Be careful what you say," he said in a low growl.

_Or what will you do ..._

"Mind to your business and I'll do the same," she concluded, turning her back on him.

She only took a few steps before Vegeta's arm immobilized her again. She felt herself being pulled back and the Saiyan's chest pressed to her back. It was only a moment before Vegeta's hand moved to her neck and unhook a necklace to which the counterfeit card was attached.

She did not turn to see the warrior breaking it his fingers. She continued walking, her legs trembling with tension as she approached the door.

"Keep it. I have more” she said over her shoulder, before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for getting to the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be very long, full of interesting developments * I hope *. If you like, leave a kudos or a comment :-)


	3. CHAPTER III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma feels homesick for her parents, for her former life and for her home. Things between her and Vegeta start to get confused ... or maybe not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read the story, who left a comment or a kudos ... I hope you like the new chapter.

She tried to straighten the antenna a bit, even if she knew it was impossible. She had found it under a pile of twisted armour. Sharp sheets everywhere. Bulma wondered briefly if it was more likely to die from tetanus or radio waves. She exhaled deeply, placing her hands on her hips.

The transceiver was huge, it occupied almost entirely the free space of her small apartment and it was incredibly old-fashioned. It was the equivalent of the telegraph on Earth, but it was the best she had managed to do considering everything. She raised the receiver to her mouth and pressed the button.

"Urgent message for the N984H spacecraft"

_Come on, dad, answer ... please answer ..._

She sat on the mattress, pulling her legs close to her chest. Static discharge only.

“Urgent message for the N984H spacecraft. Respond, please, over. "

_Come on, dad. I know you are there. That you are out there, somewhere. I just need to hear your voice for a moment. Just to know that you're okay, that you haven't given up._

She continued to text intermittently until sleep overcame. She never received an answer.

***

She raised her visor wiping her forehead with the forearm. Maybe it would have been better to turn on the air conditioning, but now that she had started, she didn't want to stop. She rearranged the mask on her face, resuming welding.

Manual labour helped clear her mind. She had spent the past three nights searching in Gene's scrap field. He was a paper-skinned alien with an extravagantly shaped pair of glasses; he was in charge of recycling the old components of the spacecraft. It was possible to find everything: from sheets to entire control panels of a few generations ago. Freeza was magnanimous. He let his slave-prisoners build radios or something like that.

Bulma finished welding the joint and then stood up.

The lizard had made a big mistake: since he understood extraordinarily little about technology, he thought it was indifferent to leave the scraps of his spaceships to his slaves. She unfastened her overalls, pulling it down to her waist and took a sip of water. Her back was wet with sweat.

_Okay, girl, let's pick up where we left off._

She grabbed another sheet of metal and started to pull it against the wall when the door suddenly opened. She slowly released her breath as Vegeta came in and closed the door behind him.

"I thought you were traveling," she said, raising her welder's mask again.

Vegeta did not reply, approaching her and looking at the half-done job. Bulma set the plate down again and sat down on the table.

"I thought you'd better hide your progress from Freeza," she explained, bringing the bottle to her lips.

Vegeta suddenly turned to her, his brows crumpled in an alarmed expression.

_Or pissed. In the end, there isn't much difference between pissed off and pissed off to death._

Bulma raised a finger, pointing to the video camera. "Do not worry. Not only is it deactivated... and I assure you that it is not possible to reactivate it unless I know it, but I have also connected it to a series of recordings. I recorded you for hours and hours ... "

She got off the table, pointing to a new sensor on the side of the door.

“When you enter the training room, the sensor activates and starts recordings. So, when you're not there, you only see an empty room. When you're there, you only see old tapes of you training with drones, "she went on.

"In here, we can talk without fear of being heard," she assured him, relaxing the base of her back against the table. She was silent, waiting for Vegeta to say something, but the Saiyan simply contemplated what she had done.

_It's like waiting for Godot._

"So ..." she continued as if she had never stopped. "I thought of making the training room ... let's say that nothing can get out of here. It is soundproofed, but instead of keeping only the sound inside, it retains energy ". She took a slab of a few centimetres and turned it over in her fingers.

“This metal is impressive; on Earth it doesn't exist. It is halfway between Kevlar and something completely different. I found it by accident rummaging through a pile of garbage from Gene. I was looking for…"

_Yes, good, tell him what you were looking for, Bulma ..._

"... circuits for my radio" she lied at the last moment. “And I thought it could be useful for us.

"Us?" Vegeta finally interrupted her, arching an eyebrow.

Bulma shrugged. “You want to kill Freeza. I want Freeza dead. You are my best chance. "

"Are you so sure I want to kill him?"

Bulma nodded. “It is logical. You don't want to share me with other warriors because you know how useful my drones are for training. This could mean that you don't want to have too many competitors in Freeza's army. But I've been monitoring your workouts and everyone else's in the past few weeks ... "

Bulma just shook her head. _You know you are the strongest and you were even before I arrived, even if in the last few weeks your power has increased a lot. Your movements are faster._

"And then there is me. You have some suspicions on what I am up to, yet you have not reported me. "

_In fact, you made sure I wasn't discovered that night._

"Not to mention you're not the type who likes to take orders from a fucking lizard," she added. She took a deep breath, stretching lazily. _I need a shower._

"So," she went on, clapping her legs, "you can train as much as you want. Just be careful when you hit the plates. They reflect the energy inside and ... yes, you could accidentally injure yourself to death. "

Bulma jumped when Vegeta let out a kind of gasp suspiciously like a laugh. She frowned, pointing a finger at him.

“Did you just laugh at something I said? I thought you weren't capable of it.” she said, curving her lips in a half-flirtatious smile. Vegeta took off his shirt, remaining alone in shorts.

"Get out of here. I must train." he replied, starting to stretch his back muscles.

Bulma sighed loudly, putting the tools in the bag. “I will finish tomorrow evening. In the meantime, don't hit the part yet to end, please, ”she said efficiently.

She started to put on the top piece of the overalls again, when the Saiyan's fingers touched her wrist. Bulma jumped, quickly withdrawing her arm in an unconditional reflex. She stared at the bruise on her skin, fighting the urge to hide it.

"If you hurt me again, I'll kill you," she whispered. She forced herself to look up again, focusing her eyes on Vegeta's. He believed he was so inscrutable ... but not for her. When she looked at him, she could really see him. "But first I have to kill Freeza" she whispered in a low and dangerous voice "I don't care how long it will take or with whom I will have to ally ... he has become a dead man walking when he attacked my planet"

Vegeta nodded softly. Just a small nod of the head that could be worth the death of both.

***

Bulma stifled a yawn, running a hand over her face. She hated the night shift. Without coffee and almost nothing to do it was almost impossible to stay awake. A heavy week lay ahead.

She grabbed a drone to fix and idly turned the mechanical parts between her fingers. They wanted to throw it away, because it was too damaged, but maybe she could still get some working circuit. She glanced at Knagg, who was dozing in the chair.

He was like her. Everyone considered him irrelevant, just because he wasn't physically strong.

"How long have you been here?" Bulma asked him, snatching him from torpor.

The alien rubbed his three eyes with his fist, abandoning himself against the back of the chair. "Since this ..." he said, grabbing his belly "was half".

Bulma nodded, fiddling with the drone's motherboard. It was burnt and unrecoverable, even for her. "And you never have the desire to ..." she stopped, shaking her head.

Knagg leaned over to her, suddenly awake and alert.

"You know, there is an empty warehouse at the bottom of sector 14," he said casually "It has a separate entrance, you have to go near the waste incinerator. The whole area should be cleaned up, but ... "he made a vague gesture with his fingers" Nobody ever cares to monitor it, not even with drones or video cameras "

Bulma felt a shiver. "Why are you telling me?" she whispered on alert.

Knagg stared at her for a few seconds. If anyone had seen him at that moment, he would certainly not have considered him harmless. A clever glow illuminated his gaze, removing indolence and anonymity.

"If I were you, I'd be careful who you ask questions, Blue," he replied softly. "Don't trust anyone ..."

"Not even you?" she answered with a half laugh to break the tension.

"No, darling. Not even me. You have no idea what people would do to survive. I only gave you the information you needed, but I don't want to know anything about what you will do with it. Now stop asking. "

***

She lowered her head, letting the water soak her hair. She had to rub thoroughly to remove any grease and oil residue from her arms. She had spent most of the night lying under a spacecraft to put one of the engines in place. The other technicians had worked on it for days without finding a solution that wasn't replacing the whole piece. She had fixed it in four hours, probably saving the lives of a couple of her colleagues. She liked being popular, she liked knowing how to fix things ... putting the world in order where there was only chaos ...

She wrapped herself in the bathrobe, returning to the changing rooms. She went over to her locker, running a towel over her hair. She unfastened her belt and started to slide the bathrobe when a voice frightened her.

"Woman"

Bulma feverishly squeezed into her bathrobe, trying to hide as much skin as possible.

"Vegeta! What are you doing in here? Turn back now! " She shrieked. "What did you see?" she replied, looking for something to throw at him. "You were spying on me in the shower, pervert?"

Vegeta turned, making a lashing growl. He glanced over his shoulder and Bulma was surprised to see him blush furiously. “I didn't see anything, and I certainly didn't come to spy on you. We have to talk, "he said. He hesitated a moment before mumbling something and going out.

Bulma dressed quickly, her heart beating furiously, sunk in embarrassment. She found him in the corridor, his expression was unperturbed. "Did you break one of the drones?"

Vegeta did not reply, gesturing to follow him.

_He is strange. Tonight, he's always on the verge of punching someone or something._

She followed him outside the structure, the cooler air of the night made her shiver. She looked down at Vegeta's hand stretched out to her. The calloused palm. Long fingers. She looked back at him in search of answers.

She was about to ask him something, but in the end, she simply put her hand on his. Vegeta's arm wrapped around her waist. He pressed her against him.

_What are you doing? I…_

She put her arm around his neck as soon as her feet no longer touched the ground. She saw the roofs of the base leave room in the dark of the desert. Expanses of rocks and dust, without any construction or minimum point of light. Bulma narrowed her eyes slightly, enjoying the cool wind on her face. The warmth of Vegeta's body close to hers. The iron weld on her waist.

It was the first time she had left the Freeza’s base. It was ... intoxicating. She wanted to stretch her arms and pretend to fly, to feel freedom on the skin ...

She let out a slight moan when the Saiyan abruptly lost altitude and landed. Bulma staggered as soon as Vegeta's arm moved away from her waist.

She ran her palms over her arms, breathing deeply into the night air. She turned her face to the sky, looking at the stars and the three moons that illuminated the dark cloak. At the base it was impossible to see them because of the spotlight.

_Do you know that he could kill you and hide your body easily? Nobody would ever know ..._

Bulma reduced her lips to a fine line. _If he wanted to do it, he could have done it quietly at the base, then calling one of the attendants to have my slaughtered body taken away._

"Are there any rattlesnakes?" she asked suddenly.

"No." he replied “Only carnivorous worms. Stay away from the rocks. ” He ordered her.

She looked around frightened, wondering if she could have climbed over him in case one had popped up. "Okay ..." she exhaled, continuing to stare around. She was intimidated by every shadow.

Vegeta snorted. He grabbed her again and carried her on a flat boulder, which formed a kind of raised stage on the surrounding valley. He formed a sphere of energy and let it float in mid-air to create a circle of light around them. "Thanks," muttered Bulma, feeling slightly more relaxed. She approached the edge of the canyons, looking at the reliefs and the pools of darkness.

_It looks like the Grand Canyon._

Bulma closed her eyes, giving in to the urge to open her arms, throw her head back and inhale deeply.

_I haven't felt so free for months. I almost feel like I'm back on earth ..._

"Now that we've solved the carnivorous worm problem, are you able to pay attention to me?"

“I _always_ pay attention to you, Vegeta. So why did you bring me here? " she asked, sitting down, and encircling her legs with her arms. The rock was still pleasantly warm.

"I needed a safe place to talk"

_We could have done it in the training room. Why did you want to leave the base?_

She was about to ask him when he unexpectedly sat down next to her. One knee bent. Fingers drummed tensely.

_He looks nervous. I think he needed to leave the base at least for a while. Who knows if he comes here often ... maybe it is his secret place?_

Bulma pinched her leg to bring herself back to reality.

_You're such an idiot, girl._

"What's up?" she asked looking at his profile. Vegeta's jaw slightly twitched.

"Freeza ... is looking for something." he finally said. "I want you to keep your eyes and ears wide open while I'm away"

Bulma realized that it was not easy for him to articulate those words. He was not used to letting someone know about his thoughts. She nodded slowly. "Okay," she replied, "Anything you need to pay particular attention to?"

"Last minute missions... if you see something ... anomalous. I would like to know more... "

Vegeta stopped abruptly.

"We'll find out," she assured him, inhaling deeply the smell of the desert. There was a sweet and dry note in the air. It somehow reminded her of the desert areas of California or Nevada. "Thanks," she added after a few seconds. She felt Vegeta's gaze settle on her but she did not turn to meet his eyes. "For sharing the information with me"

_For trusting me._

_I don't think you have any ... friend, no one to exchange confidences with ..._

“And for taking me out of the base. I needed it. Can we stay here for a while longer?" she asked, lying down on the smooth stone. She stretched lazily; her fingers entwined behind her head.

"It's been years since ..." she began. "When I was a little girl, I ran away from home to take a trip. I've been around for months, mostly alone until I met Goku ... the Saiyan who had been sent to Earth to destroy it ... "

_And then you destroyed him ..._

She ignored the thought and remembered only the nice things ...

“We slept under the stars, by the fire. We were at the beginning of our lives ... I come from a wealthy family. I am a beautiful girl, a little frivolous. Everyone expected me ... you know, doing different things ... "

_Certainly not that I wandered around the world with a monkey-tailed boy. Still, my parents always left me free to do what I wanted ... the way I wanted it ..._

“We were so free, so unconscious. Sometimes ... sometimes I think that was the best time of my life, "she added in a low voice.

_Why are you talking about it? He's probably already gone bored._

Bulma lifted her eyelids and looked at Vegeta, still sitting next to her. An intense expression on his face.

_Fuck, Vegeta. Do not look at me like this. Please._

_Because if you look at me like that, I find myself thinking that you're going to kiss me._

_And it's totally absurd._

Bulma sat up. She could feel the warmth of Vegeta's body next to hers. She slid her gaze to his lips.

_I…_

"So, you got fucked by the loser"

Bulma opened her mouth wide, unable to say anything for a few seconds. "NO!" she screamed loudly. She stood up, brushing the bottom of her pants. “I wasn't fucking with Goku. First of all because he was ... _he's still_ my best friend. Second, it's none of your business. And finally, it is rude to ask such intimate questions. If we want to get along, you will have to get to know the customs of Earth "she said in one breath.

Vegeta did not reply, merely observing her.

"One more thing," she said, lifting a finger in warning. “Don't go into the changing rooms anymore while I'm changing clothes. On Earth this is considered rude. "

_No, on Earth it is subject to denunciation or worse. You risked big, Saiyan._

Vegeta stared at her for a moment, before bending his lips into a half smile that made her knees melt. “You are no longer on Earth. There are other customs ... and anyway ... I saw _almost_ nothing ... "

"What? What did you see?" she replied, slapping him on the shoulder. "Vegeta, what do you have ..."

He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her against him. The warm reverberation of his body on her. "I did not see anything." he whispered, rising in flight. Bulma surrounded his neck, looking at him furiously.

Vegeta put his mouth next to her ear. "Although I would have liked to see something more."

***

Bulma put her feet up and pushed with all her might. The trolley moved only a few centimeters.

"Damn," she muttered. She was about to try again when Maxx's hand closed on the bar. He pushed the trolley without difficulty to the unloading area.

"Thanks," Bulma sighed, pulling off her gloves. She slipped them into the back pocket of the overalls and checked her handheld computer.

_We are almost done for today._

"No problem, B. Are you coming with us for a drink?" Maxx asked her.

She started to respond when a lab technician who looked less anthropomorphic than she could imagine, took off her hat, putting it on the growth that corresponded to the head. He made a series of articulated sounds, which Bulma was unable to decipher.

"He said you still owe us money for the last bet you lost," Maxx translated.

"It's not true! You cheated! We agreed on three pints of that sucker that tastes like laundry soap ... "

Maxx returned her hat and took a lock of her hair between his fingers. Bulma suspected he liked her.

“We are making fun of you, Blue. Are you still busy here? "

"No, I'll be right there"

Bulma wrinkled her nose a little and took her bag. She stopped as soon as she saw Vegeta standing on the other side of the hangar. He was wearing his armour and was snarling orders at a couple of simple soldiers. Bulma squeezed the buckle with his fingers, observing his expression ... his strong jaw ...

_You can't stand here looking at him like a fool. He might think that ... that you like him._

Bulma winced and nearly dropped the bag.

_Fuck… do I like him? Really?_

Vegeta turned to her, his dark eyes fixed on hers. Bulma wondered for a second if he could read her mind.

"Blue" someone called her.

Bulma settled her bag better and turned quickly to get out of the hangar. Vegeta's eyes burned on her back.

***

Bulma returned to her apartment just before dawn. It was the last night shift for at least three weeks. It was disgustingly hot, even at that time. She did not remember what the last time she had worn a clean shirt, without filling it with sweat after a few minutes. Maybe she should have built an air conditioning system for her apartment. All the buildings in which she worked had it, but the technicians of the last category had to live in the suffocating heat.

She took a small bottle of cold water from the mini fridge near the bed and took a long sip.

She took off her overalls. She lay down on the mattress, wearing only with the shirt and panties; an arm to cover the eyes.

She grabbed the transceiver with one hand.

"Urgent message for the N984H spacecraft"

_Come on, dad._

Two weeks had passed since she had started trying to contact the spacecraft with her parents, Chi-Chi and Gohan on board, but she had never received an answer. Whenever an attempt failed, she felt a little closer to an abyss.

She exhaled deeply when she heard a low knock on the door.

_Who the fuck can it be at this hour?_

“Open up, woman. You don't answer the pager "

_Fuck, fuck, fuck ..._

Bulma looked desperately at the cable monster, placed in the centre of her room. It would never, ever manage to hide it in a decent way. Then she looked at herself, barely dressed.

"Vegeta?" she asked although she knew perfectly well who was on the other side of the door. "Er ... what time is it? I just finished my shift.” She will blather. She grabbed some sheets and threw them on the big radio.

_The situation hasn't improved much, girl. Looks like you have a fucking huge Christmas tree in the middle of the room covered with a sheet._

"Open the door. My spacecraft broke and I have to leave "

She arranged the sheet better on the lower mechanical parts, trying to ignore Vegeta's curses.

_Now it is much better. Much, much better ..._

She opened the door just enough so that Vegeta could only see her.

“I just finished my shift and was getting into bed. There are the day shift mechanics for these repairs, "she replied. She felt sweat dripping from her hairline and soaking her neck and shirt. Her breathing was quickened with agitation.

Vegeta's eyes stared at her inscrutable for a few seconds. Bulma unconsciously pressed even closer to the door, further limiting his vision of the room. She lightly rubbed her foot against the bare calf, leaning a little more languidly against the jamb.

"If you give me a moment, I get dressed and ..." she said in the most seductive and faking condescending tone she could use.

Bulma realized a second too late that she had made a mistake. Probably if she continued screaming at him, Vegeta wouldn't have been so suspicious. 

The Saiyan pushed the panel with one hand and entered her apartment. His attention immediately magnetized by the monstrosity in the middle of the room. His fingers snapped quickly as he removed the sheet and revealed the transceiver.

Vegeta didn't look at her. He said nothing. Just a flicker of the jaw as he raised an arm.

_Fuck ... he wants to destroy it ..._

Bulma did not think, as she grabbed the Saiyan's arm and positioned herself between him and the transceiver.

"Please, Vegeta, please ..."

Panic made her words sobb. She squeezed the warrior's arm spasmodically, aware that she could not force him to do anything he did not want.

Her hand ran to his cheek. She stroked it gently. Her thumb touched his cheekbone. His skin was so warm…

Vegeta looked down at her. Bulma found herself breathless as she got lost in the Saiyan's dark eyes.

"Please, Vegeta ... please ... I just want to hear my father ... please, I beg you, Vegeta ... I just want to hear my father ... "she kept repeating in little more than a whisper.

Her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Please ... please ..." she whispered as she let herself go against him. The feeling his solid body against hers ... so intimate ... so perfect ...

And his breathing, so close again, like the first time they met, when he had saved her life. Bulma slid her fingers over his neck. The beat was strong, a little accelerated ... His expression could have been inscrutable, but she could feel his body reacting ...

She felt his fingers, running slowly over her back in a barely noticeable touch. His touch made chills bloom on her skin.

"You will get killed for this stuff, woman," the Saiyan whispered, his lips touching her forehead in the shadow of a kiss. It was only a moment before Vegeta moved away to look at her.

_I would like to die every time you look at me like that._

Bulma was all too aware of her skin exposed to the warrior's eyes ... of the shadow of warmth that his lips and his hand had left on her body ... She wanted him to touch her again ... that ...

Vegeta let out a long sigh, as if he had made a decision. "9645. Repeat it".

"9645"

"It's the code to enter my apartment," he continued.

"The code to enter your apartment is 7463" she replied without thinking.

Vegeta's expression darkened for a moment, his energy grew in a hot wave and remained suspended between them before the warrior calmed down again.

"I changed it after you found out," he informed her aseptically. "If something happens while I'm away ...". The voice died in a whisper.

Bulma tilted her head slightly to the side, studying him. "If something happens ... what?"

"To you ... if you are in danger and I am not here ..."

_If you are not here ... because if you are, would you protect me?_

"... go to my apartment. You should be safe there ... at least for a while "

_Because no one would dare to break into your apartment, unless Freeza himself ordered it. So, you hope that I am considered a threat so unimportant that it doesn't bother Freeza ... And while you're away ..._

Bulma swallowed empty, looking away.

_And if you can't protect me, you want me to go to your apartment... because it's the only form of protection that came to your mind._

"Okay," she said. She felt Vegeta's embarrassment equal to hers.

In the end, it was the warrior who moved first and reached the door. His face was posed in the usual angry expression.

“My ship's compensation system isn't working. I'll wait for you in the hangar in five minutes to fix it, "he said, exiting. He never looked back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely one of my favorite chapters. See you in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma misses home and does something extremely stupid.

_The explosions were getting closer. She wouldn't have made it in time. She watched the spacecraft crash into the hangar walls._

_Freeza is coming._

_I am alone ... there is no longer anyone ... my family, my friends ... Nobody who can help me._

_She heard the door collapse with a metallic clang behind her. She reached out to press the red button, but Freeza had been fast ..._

_Goku, help me, please. Goku ..._ _Goku ..._

Bulma woke up suddenly. Chills ran through the body.

She ran a hand over her face, feeling her friend's name on her lips. She pushed away the sheets badly. She had slept just over two hours. She sat on the edge of the window, one leg dangling over the windowsill. She closed her eyes, resting her forehead on the wooden frame. The aftermath of the dream mingled with present memories and fears.

_I want to go back to Earth. I want to go back to my former life. I do not…_

Her thoughts moved too fast in her mind.

_Goku ... I have to bring him back to life. I went through all the files in the Freeza archive, but there is nothing that can help me. Still, the solution has to be somewhere. I have to find it ..._ _I have to ..._

She took the handheld computer and rapidly typed some commands. After a few moments she heard metallic interference.

“Can you come here?" she said suddenly. She forced herself to calm the tremor of her voice. "In my apartment"

Only silence answered.

"Please".

_I don't have anyone else._

Bulma realized it was not true. She had known people she could consider friends ... people to trust in a certain way. She could have gone to Maxx's apartment… even to Knagg's one. She was sure they would welcome her. But yet…

She lifted her eyelids when she felt an air shift. Bulma saw Vegeta outside her window. He was wearing only a pair of tight shorts. The sweaty body battered by bruises due to training. There was a design of light and shadows, which highlighted all the roughness of the features of his face.

Bulma just bit her lower lip, not knowing what to do, what to say ...

_You came ... you ..._

She stretched out her arms towards him, without having the courage to look him in the face. She clung to his neck, letting him put one arm around her waist and the other under her knees.

_I know ... we are using each other only because we have a common purpose. But I ... I don't know why I called you. I don't know why you came. It is insane._

She closed her eyes, placing her forehead against his shoulder.

"Higher".

She did not check how high they were ... it was enough for her to feel the air get colder, to creep under her light clothes, making her shiver. The cold ... she wanted the cold to anesthetize her senses, her thoughts ... those thoughts that never gave her a respite. She took a deep breath realizing that oxygen was more rarefied.

She ventured to look under her. Freeza's base had become an indistinct mass, only lights and little else. All around an ocean of darkness. She barely brushed her nose against Vegeta's jaw, her body trembling with cold. The mind numb with fatigue.

_I don't want to go down, I want to stay here forever ... if I can't go home at least I want to stay here._

She touched the ice crystals embedded in Vegeta's hair with her fingertips.

She barely moved away to look at his imperturbable face. Ice crystals in her hair, on her lashes. Her skin was the colour of the moon. She looked at her hands and arms. Ice crystals on her, like fresh snow.

_We are both freezing._

_But you are here. I needed you and you ..._

Bulma slowly ran his lower lip with his finger.

_Your eyes are burning._

Bulma leaned over to him. Vegeta's warm breath on her frozen skin.

_If we had met in another way ... if the two of us ..._

She barely touched his lips with hers in a gentle kiss. The fingers between his hair, a light caress on the back of the neck, before everything vanished.

***

Bulma groped for the alarm clock, throwing it off the bedside table. She had an infernal headache. She turned over on the sheets, trying to remember where she was, what her name was ...

_Shit_

She sat up abruptly, causing a wave of pain in her temple as soon as the memories of the previous night became clearer.

_I dreamed. There is no other explanation. Vegeta doesn't ..._

She immediately touched the pillow, realizing that it was still wet. The window had remained open.

_M hair was wet. Like Vegeta's hair. I must have passed out at some point and he brought me back to my apartment._

Bulma looked at the too short shirt, the shorts that barely passed the exam of decency.

 _I have to change outfits to sleep ... or for my night trips._ She forced herself to prepare for her turn, her stomach was tight in a painful grip. She skipped breakfast, heading straight for the lab. Her mind was completely absent.

_Pretend you don't remember. Maybe it was just a dream._

She just touched her lips, mentally cursing herself. "Blue! Twenty minutes have passed. What the fuck are you doing? "

Bulma winced, dropping one of the tools. "Yes, I almost did," she replied, avoiding looking at her manager. She started the diagnostics when she sensed _his_ presence ... a magnetic wave made chills down her spine.

She swallowed empty without having the courage to look up from what she was doing.

"Are you going to take all day to prepare my spacecraft?"

"N-no ... I did it" she replied, reassembling the panel. She picked up the toolbox and took a step back. Of course, he had told her he had to leave again.

She ventured to glance at him, but Vegeta was checking the flight plan. Bulma stole a few moments to observe his profile chiselled in the stone ... perhaps he too preferred to pretend that nothing had happened.

_After all, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing._

_Just a moment of loss of concentration._

Then Vegeta looked at her ... a long burning look, full of fire and shadows ... He said nothing, before getting on the ship.

***

She lay down against the back of the sofa, raising her face upwards. The fan attached to the ceiling gave a semblance of coolness, but in reality it only moved hot air without cooling it.

"Can't you build an air conditioning system?" Maxx asked, sipping a drink with a taste similar to that of beetroot. He found it exquisite.

Bulma wrinkled her nose, accepting the alien version of a joint. It was made with weed grown on the edge of the Freeza base. She was not the only one who lingered in illegal activities. He took a large puff of smoke before passing it on to Code One, the owner of the bar. He had incredible eyes, the same color as the stormy sea but without a pupil. It was now very late ... or very early. They had tried to erase the labors of the day and the disgust of life in general.

"I can build whatever you want, honey" Bulma replied, rubbing her eyelids on the edge of sleep. For a moment he did not notice that the atmosphere had suddenly changed, as if the temperature had dropped several degrees. She caught a glimpse of understanding between Maxx and Code One and straightened her back, suddenly alert.

"Also repair?" asked the technician.

Bulma drained her drink in one breath, making a face in disgust. She got to her feet, blocking her hair in a crimp stopped by a pencil. "Let me see".

"Holy shit" she sighed, looking at the gutted spacecraft.

Maxx and Code One had escorted her to the back of the pub, a kind of internal courtyard which no windows overlooked and partially protected by rusty sheets. Everything was twisted by the sun and covered with a layer of red desert sand that surrounded the base. "Where did you get it?" she asked, looking inside. Parts of the ceiling were missing; the control panel was old ... it looked like that of an old land truck rather than something that could travel in space.

"It belonged to my grandfather," CodeOne replied, holding out a flashlight for a better look. “It dates back to the war against Freeza. It is one of the last one "

"Almost a piece of antiques," added the technician. Then he listed all the repairs they had already made. Bulma was pretty sure she couldn't fly. Maybe not even start.

She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. Thoughts overlapped one another. "We have to make it invisible to radars," she murmured to herself. A spacecraft. But of course, it would have been useful for her to search for the Dragon spheres, as soon as she had the certainty that others existed. Then she would have to be reunited with her father and the rest of the Earthlings. She had taken it for granted to simply steal one, but this was much better ... if she had managed to bring the two aboard the company.

"I need to see the plans ..." She was about to add more, when the base was suddenly illuminated in daylight. A huge displacement of air signaled the arrival of several spacecraft. Code One covered the ship's carcass with some sheets, while Bulma hurried out of the courtyard. She began to run towards the landing strip, keeping herself in the shadow cones.

She heard Maxx and Code One's footsteps behind her. She flattened herself against one of the hangar walls, peering towards the track. All that turmoil was not normal: warriors and officials ran from one side to the other. Bulma abruptly held her breath when she saw Vegeta descend from one of the ships. Three weeks had passed since he left.

Even from that distance she could understand that he was injured and tired. She sensed it from the tension of his shoulders, from the way she leaned almost without realizing the weight of her body on her right foot. Why hadn't he used one of the healing capsules?

She watched him give orders and then approach the ship's second hatch, from which several prisoners were disembarking. Bulma bit hard on the inside of her cheek.

Women, children, the elderly ... It was not possible to see many, because they were not useful ... and being useful in the Freeza base was the only requirement for staying alive.

They all had green skin and for a moment Bulma's mind caught something ... the embryo of an idea that quickly disappeared.

Vegeta continued to give orders until everyone froze, then hurriedly stepped aside.

"What the fuck is he doing out here?" Maxx whispered behind her as Freeza approached the prisoners. The tail beat rhythmically on the ground.

Bulma didn't want to see, she didn't want to know.

"I'm going home," she murmured quickly walking away. Still, there was that idea ... she had been on the point of catching it, but she had let it slip. She began to climb the stairs slowly, lost in a thousand thoughts, when a pair of muscular legs entered her field of vision.

She stopped immediately, the heart began to hammer in her chest.

"Vegeta" she whispered. Bulma felt her stomach contract in a mixture of pain and expectation.

He held out a hand, which she squeezed without even thinking about it. An electric shock passed through her body as he pulled her towards him. Their bodies close again ... and Bulma realized that she had waited for him ... that for all those weeks she had longed for that feeling ... she had felt her skin burn with desire. She clung to her neck, languid and stupefied by the heat and desire.

She parted her lips in a sigh when Vegeta brought his mouth close to her ear. “Pretend you're my lover. I don't know who could see us, "he murmured. The voice enraged with tiredness.

Pretend ... yes, she could do it. She let her drive to her apartment. She didn't even know if her feet were touching the floor or if he was carrying her weight.

_Touch me, Vegeta ... please ..._

Bulma sank her face into his neck, deeply inhaling his smell.

_I know it, I know your smell. I know the warmth of your body. It is as if I have left an imprint on mine ... and every time you touch me ..._

She frantically opened the door and let him in.

_Kiss Me…_

She turned to him, but Vegeta let her go to lock the door. Bulma barely wobbled on her legs, a shiver of cold went through the skin that until a moment before had been in contact with Vegeta's body.

"What the fuck happened in here?" the Saiyan asked, hugging the apartment with a single glance.

Bulma blinked, looking around as if she was seeing her apartment for the first time. Since the last time Vegeta had been there, the equipment has multiplied. There were parts of spacecraft placed under the bed, even in the sink. Bulma had collected and repaired anything that might be useful, carving out a minimum space for her vital functions. Sometimes she thought she was living inside a data center.

"I've had a lot of free time since you no longer destroyed my drones," she replied stupidly, sitting on the mattress. Vegeta let out an angry moan.

"Are you able to get into the interrogation room surveillance system?"

_So he wasn't here to kiss me ... as usual he just wants things ... he just wants my brain ..._

"You are the first man who appreciates me only for my intelligence," she articulated, staring into space. She winced when Vegeta laid his hands on her shoulders, chaining her gaze with his own. He looked at her for a few moments, making her forget to breathe.

"Are you high?"

Bulma snorted, releasing his hold, and getting up. She quickly washed her face with cold water, taking a few seconds to clear her mind.

_Don't be stupid, come on._

"Yes ... I mean I can do it. Give me a few days "

“No, you have to do it right away. And you don't have to be caught. "

Bulma dabbed at her face with a towel, then rubbed her neck. "Of course, His Majesty. There is something else I can do to ... "Bulma suddenly stopped talking when Vegeta canceled the distance that separated them. He lifted her chin with two fingers to face him.

"This isn't a game, kid," he growled as she moved away into the small space of her apartment.

She turned on a couple of machines and the central computer. "I know perfectly well," she replied, sitting up and pulling out a keyboard. "So give me two hours ... you can sleep in my bed in the meantime"

It was not complicated. She had already infiltrated the flight plans, in the shifts of the base ... it was only an access to be forced. Without being discovered, as he had said.

She only looked away from the monitor when she realized that Vegeta was still standing. "Well... we are lovers" she replied "You certainly can't finish in ten minutes, can you?"

Vegeta curved his lips in a smile full of indecent promises and Bulma felt her stomach twisting in a spasm of desire.

_No, it certainly would not._

_He would be able to go on all night ... and he would fuck me in ways that ..._

She forced herself to focus on the screen again, ignoring Vegeta taking off one piece of armor at a time… the shirt and pants ended up on the floor next to a pile of circuits to fix. Bulma ventured to give him a quick glance. The well-defined line of his back, the strong shoulders ...

Bulma swallowed empty.

The bottoms covered by boxers. The powerful legs ...

She forced herself to look at the monitor again, while Vegeta pushed the sheets aside and slipped into her bed. He turned his back on her, wrinkling the pillow under his head.

"Woman" he said after a while. The low, sleepy voice.

"Hm?"

"Be careful"

***

She tidied her hair better, taking one last look in the mirror. Dark shadows surrounded her eyes and her lips were incredibly pale.

_You suck, girl. You can no longer afford not to sleep for 24 hours._

She grimaced at her reflection, trying to brighten her cheeks. She went to the bed where Vegeta was still sleeping. He had uncovered himself completely from the sheets, surrendering himself in the heat. His features were still concentrated, as if even during sleep he could not finally let down his guard.

Bulma allowed herself only a few instants to mend his incredible body, before calling him by name.

Vegeta opened his eyes, immediately alert.

"I'm done," she said in a sigh. "They have already begun to interrogate them, but ..." she let the phrase go out, avoiding his gaze.

_I can't watch. If you want, do it yourself._

"There's a mess in the fridge that looks almost like coffee and something to eat," she added, brushing a strand of hair away from her forehead. "I have to go now. My shift starts soon "

"You didn't sleep," Vegeta said, throwing his legs off the bed and sitting up. Bulma took a deep breath, checking her pockets to make sure she got it all.

"Well I thought it was important," she replied when he touched her leg with his fingers. A light touch, barely noticeable above the raw fabric of the overalls.

_Don't do it, please ... I can't think anymore every time you touch me ..._

Vegeta made his palm adhere to her leg, stroking it slowly to the waist. He imprisoned a piece of cloth between his fingers, pulling her gently towards him. Bulma shivered. Her hands rested on the Saiyan's shoulders. She touched the sensitive skin of his neck with the fingertips, while he sank his face against her belly. His mouth fell to her skin, only covered by the thin shirt.

_If you drag me to that bed, it will take well over ten minutes._

"I have to go," she said, getting rid of his hands.

Her body screamed in pain and need. Bravely she took the toolbox without looking at him and went out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has come this far. The story is starting to develop ... in the next chapters there will be other twists .. but I won't spoil you :-)


	5. CHAPTER 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma finally manages to get in touch with her father and the other Earthlings. Meanwhile, her relationship with Vegeta becomes deeper.

**CHAPTER 5**

The apartment was exactly as she had left it that morning, except for the absence of Vegeta. She still felt the shadow of his presence, his perfume on the sheets. Bulma picked them up with an angry gesture and put them in the dirty laundry basket. She quickly made the bed and then took a long cold shower. She hadn't slept for nearly forty hours.

She checked the monitors and then turned everything off. The interrogations had to be over. What could Freeza want from women, children, and elderly people ... who all had green skin? Again, she was on the verge of grasping an idea, but she was unable to focus on it.

She lay down on the bed and wrapped herself in the sheets. It was hot and she felt exhausted from fatigue and lack of sleep. Yet her mind did not want to give in. Thoughts continued to chase each other in a confused whirl. She took the transceiver.

“Urgent message for the N984H spacecraft. Do you copy? "

She inhaled deeply, slowly feeling her muscles relax against the mattress. The tension left the shoulders and neck.

"Urgent message for the N984H spacecraft"

“Here N984H spacecraft. We receive you loud and clear "

Bulma sat up abruptly, suddenly alert again. Her heart pounded in her chest so badly that it hurt.

"Here N984H spacecraft ..."

"Yes ... yes ... can you hear me? I'm Bulma Briefs "

"Bulma?"

Bulma covered her mouth with one hand. Something inside her melted for the first time in months. She clung to the two-way radio, as big tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Dad" sobbed, pouring into that word all the fears, all the uncertainties, all the hope and anger that had supported her in those months, without knowing if her loved ones were still alive, if maybe they were looking for her ... if believed dead.

"Honey where are you?"

"I…"

She could not speak. She seemed to be five years old again and sneaked into her father's laboratory to watch him work. She had learned everything from him ... everything that had kept her alive until then.

"Honey, we thought ... where are you? We come to get you. "

And Bulma really didn't believe there could be a nicer feeling: knowing that her father was going to pick her up, no matter how far away or dangerous it was. She wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands, taking a few deep breaths.

"No. No, it's not safe for you to come here. "She said." I'm fine. I'm… well,” she asserted with all possible confidence. “Listen to me, dad. We need to bring Goku and everyone else back to life. You have to help me look for information ... it is possible ... I believe there are other Dragon spheres somewhere in the universe "

Some static discharge went through the communication for a few seconds. Bulma could almost see it. The cigarette in the mouth. The lab coat was recapitulate, despite her mother providing him with a perfectly ironed one every day. The expression absorbed, as if he could see things for everyone else foreclosed.

"Dad?"

“We will collect information, baby. But you ... "

"Try not to be unconscious, you old men" she interrupted, laughing slightly.

"I'll pass your mother"

Even light years away certain things never change.

***

Bulma awoke with a start, the aftermath of sleep that still clouded her senses. She had dreamed them. Goku, Yamcha, Piccolo They had fallen. Goku's body slumped in a pool of blood. She was glad that Chi-Chi and Gohan had been far away at the time ... glad they hadn't seen him like that ...

The memory of Goku's smile flashed before her eyes for a moment.

_Damn._

She threw the sheets aside, retrieving the bottle from the floor. She took a sip of lukewarm water. The clock showed 2:00 in the morning. There was something in the dream ... something that had to do with the idea ... it was possible that her brain refused so much to ...

Bulma froze. The bottle fell on the floor with a dull thud. How could she have been so foolish? How the fuck it was possible ...

She quickly put on her shorts and a clean shirt before turning on the computer. She had to talk to Vegeta. From a rapid check on the movements of his magnetic card, he appeared to be in the training room.

Bulma grabbed her card and ran out of the apartment. She had been stupid and naive ... it could have been because of the shock of being taken prisoner or maybe she was just a great idiot.

She directly reached the training rooms and stopped in front of Vegeta's. Everything was silent and motionless. She pressed the intercom, waiting for the warrior to answer. If she had simply stopped the drones and brought gravity back to normal it could have killed him.

"What?"

_Who the hell asks what and not who …?_

"It's me," she replied.

After a moment, the door opened. Bulma forgot for a moment what she was going to do there when Vegeta showed up in front of her in shorts. The body covered with a veil of sweat. Bulma pushed him in and closed the door unceremoniously.

"The prisoners ... those who just arrived ... did they say something?"

"Nothing interesting," replied the Saiyan.

“Is it possible to ask them questions? I can get you into the interrogation wing and ... "

"They were all executed this afternoon"

Bulma froze, her fingers tormenting the edge of the shirt. "Shit ..." she exhaled.

She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe it was better if they all died without saying anything. Because Bulma was sure that if someone had spoken, she would have seen Freeza leave by evening, instead the activities of the base had continued without interruptions or significant changes.

"Where did the prisoners come from?"

The Saiyan frowned, evaluating her question for a few moments. Bulma knew he liked to anticipate it, but this time he couldn't. He didn't have all the information. "Please…"

"Namek"

Bulma felt her legs waver, sat down heavily on the ground, removing her hair from her face. Vegeta knelt in front of her. His hands rested gently on her arms.

"On Namek ... are there survivors?"

“We didn't go to Namek. We intercepted a consular ship "

_I know what Freeza wants from them. The same thing that I want too ... the Dragon Balls ... Piccolo. The key is Piccolo._

_Even if the spheres on earth disappeared after his death, the same fate could not befall those on Namek. If I had to guess, I'd say that's the most likely thing ... I have to go get them. I have to steal a ship and go bring Goku back to life ..._

She exhaled slowly for a moment.

_No, I can't do it. I would risk attracting too much attention. I have to tell my dad. They will send them an expedition to recover them. Except that if Freeza did not have the information he was looking for; he could organize an expedition to Namek shortly ..._

Bulma let out a long sigh. So, there was still hope. She nodded to herself, not realizing that Vegeta had moved away. She blinked a few times, getting to her feet. She looked at Vegeta's back turned towards her, while the warrior was preparing to resume training.

“Ora che hai avuto le tue informazioni, esci” le disse rabbiosamente.

_È incazzato con me… e non so bene perchè… ovvio che gli avrei detto tutto io… noi due siamo alleati ora, no?_

Bulma took a step towards him. She barely touched the line of his back with the fingertips. His skin was warm, barely damp from sweat. Vegeta didn't move, as she slid her arms down his back, then hooking her hands over his abdomen. He felt the well-defined muscles twitch slightly. Her mouth touched his back, tracing a trail of hot kisses along his spine. She felt him shiver under her touch ...

His skin tasted good.

_You have to give Namek information to the Earthlings, Bulma ... you have to do it now._

_Maybe in the next few days you may not be able to intercept your father._

Vegeta sighed with pleasure, leaning his head back, while she stood on tiptoe to nibble on the base of his neck. One of his hands covered hers. The calloused palm, the long, tapered fingers ... Bulma lowered herself, while Vegeta turned to her. Her hands that made their way under her shirt, while their lips touched in a dance of hot breaths.

"Don't ..." she sobbed, trying to pull her shirt down. "Vegeta, I can't ... now I don't ..."

His mouth looking for hers again in the ghost of a kiss. But Bulma knew she had to stop now ... or she wouldn't be able to get out of there anymore.

"I have to go," she said, finally blocking Vegeta's hands. She stared into those deep, full of desire eyes. They seemed to burn as long as he wanted it.

"I'll tell you everything ... I swear it," she whispered, leaning her forehead against his. She still breathed his broken breath for a few moments before breaking free from his embrace. “I have to go give this information to a person. Could… "

_Be our last chance to kill Freeza ..._

She adjusted her clothes, stopping to breathe in and out deeply in front of the door.

_Well done, girl. Take back control if you don't want to look like someone who has NOT just been fucked._

"See you soon," she said, leaving without looking at him. If only she did, she wouldn't be able to get out of there anymore.

***

She had been in fibrillation all day, making mistakes all the time and forgetting tools everywhere. Knagg had noticed her agitation, but had commented only with a nasal grunt. She expected him to go find her with a trivial excuse and drag her into the training room, but Vegeta seemed to have disappeared from the base.

The day had passed, leading to a warm evening, swept by a hot wind from the desert.

Bulma had tried to concentrate on connecting an old monitor to the transceiver so that she could see her parents, but her fingers seemed to have gone numb. She was about to change her clothes when a slight knock on the door made her jump.

"Vegeta" she whispered, letting him in. The stomach sank in a grip of agitation and expectation, immediately annihilated by the Saiyan's words.

"I can only stay a few minutes" Bulma was about to reply, when something in his expression made her give up. The pissed off had been replaced by a profound disturbance.

Vegeta had sat down in one of the two chairs in the room and had pretended to know everything, everything that her plan required.

She had informed him of the recovery mission that her father had undertaken, of the Dragon Balls, of her friends ... In a few hours they would have arrived on Namek, they would have brought everyone back to life and then they would have left so that Goku could do training. In the meantime she would gather information ... as much information as possible about Freeza, his way of fighting, his power and she would make sure that the Earthlings and all the other fugitives were not found.

"There's more?"

Bulma shrugged. She took some of the weed Maxx had sold her, inhaling the smoke deeply. She rested her forehead on the base of one hand.

_It must work ..._

She snorted when the fan attached to the ceiling started making a strange noise. She grabbed a long stick and patted it after getting into the chair. The fan coughed a few times and then started working properly again.

"It sucks," Vegeta decreed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, it is the only one we have at the moment, besides you training to death. And then you don't know Goku "

"And you don't know me"

"And you don't know me! What's this? A contest? " she blurted out, stepping over the bed to open the mini fridge.

_Fuck, I almost ran out of water._

She took one bottle for herself and one for Vegeta. She handed it to the warrior who accepted it without saying anything. “We should have met in my apartment. It's too hot in here” he muttered.

Bulma sat cross-legged on the bed, slightly increasing the fan speed. “I'm sorry that the Saiyan prince is intolerant to the heat, but my apartment is safe. I installed a surveillance system, a disturbance system in case someone tries to listen to us, a motion and heat sensor to detect intruders ... "she listed by lifting a finger for each element" The only other safe environment is your room training, but there we have no weed and these fantastic comforts," she said.

Vegeta barely pursed his lips, turning his head not to show her that he was smiling in his pissed off way.

"What else?" he asked, drawing attention back to her.

"I already told you…"

“You told me about your fantastic plan with the Dragon balls. Now I want to know what you're up to here ... "

"I'm not doing…"

"…in detail"

Bulma groaned, lying on the mattress. She ran her fingers through her damp hair and pulled them back. Maybe Vegeta was right: if he had air conditioning he could have made his apartment safe. Maybe he even had a bath tub ... one of the huge ones where you can swim or dive.

She slowly rocked a bare foot, nibbling on her lower lip.

"I am waiting."

"And why should I tell you?" she retorted, but a single glance was enough to understand that Vegeta would not give up easily.

"Okay ... well ..." she said, opening the nightstand drawer. She pulled out an envelope of counterfeit cards with various access levels.

“Access to almost all areas of the bases except Freeza's private apartments and a couple of uninteresting areas. Access to all internal communications from the base, access to communication systems with spaceships ... but only if they use the official system ".

She bit her lip again, tapping her finger on her nose.

“I'm fixing a spacecraft. It is mostly a rubbish, but I hope to make it fly in a few weeks. I can't tell you who else is involved. I hid other material in a desert sector, near the incinerator ... and I ... "

"What?"

"I stole some money"

"What? To who?"

“I needed them for spare parts, but don't worry… it was a clean job. That's all. No, wait ... no, no ... that's all "

Vegeta barely shook his head, arching an eyebrow.

"Well I would have done even more if you gave me less work," she replied, sitting up. She stretched lazily, glancing at the clock that marked a few minutes after midnight. She exhaled deeply, returning to look at Vegeta. His flight was due to depart in two hours. He would only be four or five days away, maybe a week. Bulma knew this because she accidentally peeked at her itinerary. A simple, routine mission.

"So ..." she murmured, tapping her heel against the bed.

So I guess you can't kiss me now, can you? she thought when Vegeta stood up.

She just shook her head, she was stupid. She lowered the edge of the shirt a little too short, approaching the door.

"See you in a few days, then ... partner," she said, stopping beside him.

Vegeta seemed to fill the room, saturate it with his presence ... as if there was no room for anyone else. He could wipe out everything else, only by standing near her.

Bulma reached out and gently stroked his shoulder, then stopped at the base of his neck. She felt his heartbeat steadily and solidly under his palm. "I don't think I ever thanked you for saving my life," she whispered in a low voice, while Vegeta's hands lowered to her hips. Bulma shivered under his touch.

And then Vegeta's lips were on his neck, a light and velvety caress.

"Don't get killed while I'm away," he murmured into her ear. His hands traced paths of fire on her body. Bulma dipped her fingers into his hair, gently pulling it back to be able to look at him.

"Kiss me ... please ..."

_I want to feel the taste of your mouth, your hands on my body ... I want to feel you inside me ... please ..._

But Vegeta just touched her lips with his in a light touch.

"If I kiss you now, I won't be able to stop anymore" he whispered in one breath. Bulma hugged him, snatching a groan from the bottom of his throat.

"I don't want you to stop"

_Why did we waste so much time talking, talking, talking? To plot plans and things like that ... we should have ... and instead somehow we manage to break the distance between us only when we are running out of time._

Vegeta took her face in his hands, kissing her just before breaking away.

"I have to go now"

Bulma exhaled deeply, running her fingers through her hair. She felt completely upset. She would do anything to hold Vegeta back, but the Saiyan was already in the doorway.

"Vegeta, don't ... don't even get yourself killed"

He just nodded before leaving.


	6. CHAPTER 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone  
> sorry if it took me almost a month to publish the new chapter but the translation took longer than expected.
> 
> I leave you to a particularly long chapter, I hope you will like it. Whatever you find changed from the original ... it's probably because I don't remember all the details ... and therefore I appeal to the supreme power of the Alternative Universe.
> 
> Thanks to my beta for pressing me for the regular publication of the chapters :-)

Her breath came out in small painful gasps. Something had broken inside her, something that tasted of blood and death. She raised her eyelids cautiously, but her vision was hazy, full of shadows. She thought she saw the reddish desert sky above her. She did not remember leaving her apartment, she did not remember going ... She swallowed empty, fingers faintly tracing her soaked shirt.

 _I hate this place, I'm always sweaty_ , she thought confusedly, as she looked down at the tips of her red-stained fingers. She squinted a little, touching something next to her. Something that had arms and legs… something that was, without a doubt, dead.

Bulma closed her eyes tightly as a flash filled her mind.

Blades of pain had broken through the skin of her back, digging the flesh down to the bone.

They had tortured her. For hours. They went down to the laboratories shortly after lunch time, picked them up and took them to the interrogation area. She thought they had found the equipment in her room, fear filled her mouth, but then she realized that it made no sense ... there were people she didn't know ... cooks, technicians who took care of the overalls, cleaners ...

She felt sucked into the darkness again. She remained barely conscious, her heartbeat getting weaker, her breath no longer filling her lungs.

 _I'm dying_ , she realized. _I should be afraid, but ... I don't feel anything ... not even pain ..._

She just moaned as two strong arms lifted her. She would have wanted to scream, if only she had the strength. Head resting against a large chest.

_Vegeta ... but the smell is not right ... not ..._

"She's still alive" someone murmured. He shone a light in her eyes.

“The pupils react. Let's take her away "

Bulma thought she knew that voice, but she couldn't be sure. She desperately tried to remain conscious, to cling to life with all her strength, but a dreamless darkness greeted her _._

***

Hot. It was always too hot in the damn place. She barely moved when a wave of pain bit her body in a rush of life. She clawed the sheets under her, suddenly becoming aware of everything. The pain in her side and back, the rhythmic throbbing that tormented her temples, the metallic taste that stagnated in the back of her throat.

"Don't move, Blue." a voice she knew well said as an ice pack was placed on her forehead. She lifted her eyelids slowly and blinked them a couple of times, before focusing on Knagg's face bent over her.

"Where ..." she murmured, trying to lick her lips. Sigh of relief when the technician brought a glass of water to her mouth. She took a few sips, feeling immediately better. "Swallow this," the alien told her, then giving her a pill which she swallowed with another sip of water.

“We hid you in Code On's drop ship at the back of the club. The guys are making the last changes, then you'll have to leave. "

"What are you ..." she tried to sit up, but Knagg's big hand on her shoulder made her give up.

“They picked you up two days ago, along with the whole team that usually works for Prince Vegeta. Kitchen staff, technicians ... they didn't leave anyone out. They questioned you ... "

Bulma sat up. Her whole body screamed in pain, but her mind was suddenly more alert. "What?"

“Apparently the prince's ship didn't return two days ago, as expected. The tracking system is blown. They ransacked his apartment and training room, found the changes you made… He's accused of treason. Freeza will kill him as soon as he manages to capture him. "

_Vegeta… Freeza realized he was trying to beat him. Maybe the lizard suspected him earlier. But why didn't Vegeta come back when he should have? Why did he disable the GPS from his spacecraft so that he cannot be found? Maybe he sensed that Freeza ..._

Bulma rubbed her face with her hands, thoughts continuing to overlap.

"What happened to the others?" she asked, watching a shadow obscure Knagg's expression.

"After questioning you, they piled you out to ..."

"To… "

"To take you to the incinerator. That's where we found you. You are the only one to have survived "

Bulma shivered. She wrapped herself in her arms, trying to keep some of the warmth, which suddenly disappeared.

_They would have… burned me alive. But They saved you. Now focus. Try to remember what happened in the past three days._

She pulled back her hair, the memories that flashed through her mind. There were grey areas.

"The water recycling system is also ready ... Oh hello, B. You woke up."

Maxx stepped into the ship, his sweat-soaked shirt sticking to his body. Spots of grease dotting his strong arms. Bulma smiled faintly.

"Thanks for ..." she murmured awkwardly. Maxx smiled, waving his hand.

“We have dismantled everything in your apartment. We brought you a backpack with your things ... I think you kept it as an emergency for a sudden escape. "

Bulma nodded, accepting the hand Maxx held out to her. Her legs refused to cooperate, continuing to tremble. Her whole body was aching and aching.

"You've been in a healing tank for a few hours, but ..."

Knagg let out a groan of disappointment.

“You should have stayed a few more days, but we have at least restored your vital functions. We stole other medicines from the infirmary. They cause drowsiness. When you are out of the atmosphere, turn on autopilot and take two of these ... "he continued, putting a couple of white tablets in her hand.

Bulma nodded, still lost in thought. Her brain continued to work fast, but the pain had clouded her reason. The pieces of the puzzle were all there in front of her, but she could not rearrange them so that she could see the big picture.

"Okay ... she murmured more to herself than to others" Okay ... "she repeated" When do we leave? "

Knagg spread his arms, muttering as he walked away. Maxx shook his head. “We are not leaving. You will go alone. If Freeza notices that you are still alive ... "

"No!" Bulma snapped, her fingers closing on the boy's forearm. “We worked on it together. We…"

Maxx kindly released her grip, shaking his head again. “We will stay here to temporarily disable the base radars. You go… go and find a way to kill the bastard” he concluded, gently brushing a lock of hair from her face. He placed it behind her ear, lingering a moment longer than a friend would.

Bulma smiled faintly, following him with her eyes as he exited the ship.

***

"N984H Ship speaking "

Bulma sighed in relief, looking at the image on the monitor to become more defined. It stretched a moment longer, before his father's face filled the video.

Cigarette in his mouth, a white lab coat, the cat idly curled up beside him.

_It's nice to know that some things never change ..._

“Dad, I'm on my way to you,” she said, still tapping the keys.

_Hoping that this wreck will allow me. It is literally falling apart. I just hope he manages to hold itself together while through Namek atmosphere. It could catch fire or ..._

Bulma just shook her head, trying to push the thought away. She had left Freeza's base the previous day and had been happily sleeping for the past twenty hours and was feeling much better despite the nightmares. Knagg and Maxx had saved her life. In return she just had to find a way to kill Freeza.

Easy, right?

"How's it going with the search for the Spheres?" she continued, while her father exhaled a large puff of smoke.

"We only need the last three, but ..."

"But?"

"There is someone else who is looking for them, honey. Gohan and Chi-Chi were attacked two days ago and are miraculously alive. A warrior from Freeza's army "

Bulma felt her stomach sink. An unpleasant sensation nestled at the bottom of the throat.

"I need to talk to Chi-Chi," she said, without looking at her father.

"She's sleeping, baby, It is just ..."

“Dad! It's important ... wake her up "

She heard him whispering to himself and the cat as he walked away from the screen.

_You were stupid, Bulma. Stupid and naive. You thought he was on your side… or at least you were on the same side and instead he deceived you. He used you to train harder and then you… you blew it all. Stupid, stupid, stupid ..._

"Bul ..." Chi-Chi muttered, her eyes swollen with sleep, her face pale and drawn.

“Did the warrior who attacked you look like a human? Was he short, muscular and with an asshole face? " she asked without taking a breath.

Chi-Chi looked at her for a few moments. "Yes, how do you ..."

Bulma swallowed hard, hitting even more furiously on the keys. “Leave immediately. You and Gohan. You must find the other spheres as well. I…"

_I'm coming. And when I get there, Vegeta will have to be very, very careful not to cross my path._

"Do you have the radar to find balls?"

Chi-Chi confirmed that her father had built the radar. The last two, however, were in the farthest corners of the planet and it would have taken longer to find them. They were resting just a couple of hours before ...

“Always carry the others with you. Stop Gohan from flying… you only have to move with the motorcycle. He doesn't have radar, but he can sense Gohan's KI "

_That's how the bastard is following you ..._

"All right"

Bulma glanced at her. She looked thin and pained, but a fighting fire burned in her eyes. They had never bonded much, they were simply too different, but they had always been able to establish an exquisitely feminine alliance in the most critical moments.

"It is very dangerous, be careful, Dad"

The scientist took the place of Goku's wife in front of the screen. The old butt had been replaced by a new cigarette.

“Dad, you have to hide. Look for a spot with very dense vegetation or in a hedgehog of rocks."

_If he can't catch Chi-Chi and Gohan, he might catch my parents._

_Vegeta will not stop, he will not rest. If he wants Dragon balls, there is nothing that can stop him._

***

She had imagined the first meeting with her parents many times. Tears, hugs and some gooey words, maybe. Instead she had come down from the ship like a fury, shouting orders. The anger boiling in her stomach, poisoning every thought.

Bringing Goku and the other warriors back to life, restoring the conditions on Earth before the invasion, killing Freeza ... everything was subordinate to beating Vegeta.

She quickly took off her overalls and put on one of her old yellow Capsule Corp suits. It was made of a strong, water-repellent material suitable for space travel.

Her mother and father were always the same, they had undertaken that adventure respectively as a pleasant distraction from everyday life and an opportunity to study. They had left the primary spacecraft somewhere near the moons of Jupiter and headed for Namek in one of the smaller and more manageable emergency vehicles, but equipped to ensure the survival of its inhabitants for months.

They had hidden the spacecraft in a ravine of rocks, performing a kind of acrobatic miracle in landing. It was still visible, if you knew what to look for, but Bulma hoped they'd at least bought time.

She adjusted her motorcycle helmet and checked that she took everything she might need. She felt a dull pain in the mouth of her stomach.

Her father brought her old motorcycle, Capsule 341. Bulma lightly stroked it, stolen in old memories. It was a little dated, but even after so many years it was still the most reliable and low-consumption one in the production of his father's company. They had also arranged the sidecar so that it could carry three people. Bulma looked at Gohan sitting next to her for a moment and found herself thinking how little he resembled Goku.

She had once told Vegeta that her time with Goku was the best time of her life.

"You don't have to fly," she advised. “The warrior who is hunting us can sense your KI even from a great distance. We have to be smarter than him "

_And don't let us find out._

Gohan nodded, excited for this new mission. Bulma started the motorcycle, waiting for Chi-Chi to climb up behind her. She checked the radar and then started the bike. A light fog was rising from the dewy grass, making the landscape spooky. All that green hurt the eyes after months spent in Freeza's desert base. She rode across a plain that seemed infinite, among the columns of water vapor.

They were incredibly quiet, perhaps too focused on what they should be doing or too worried about their eventual defeat to speak.

Bulma accelerated, heading for a dense forest. "Almost there," she announced.

_Two hundred meters… maybe less… it must be close._

Focused on the radar, she did not notice a sudden movement of air. She saw a light explode from the sidecar and too late realized it was Gohan.

Chi-Chi made her drop her head abruptly, something passed very close to her helmet. Something that had teeth and claws.

_Fuck_

The bike swerved sideways, hitting a tree. The body of the motorcycle bent on impact but held up. Bulma and Chi-Chi were thrown to the ground. A burning pain erupted in her shoulder as she violently hit the ground.

She remained lying down, observing the tangle of the trees above her.

Her breath came quickly from her lips as she tried to recover fast from the shock. A being who seemed to have come out of her nightmares clawed her arms. A string of frothy red drool encircled a mouth armed with teeth. It was only a moment before Chi-Chi snatched it from her. She pierced him with the katana, then helped Bulma to her feet.

“Look for it. We keep them away, ”she told her. The katana clenched in hand. She turned around and sliced one of the flying things in two. A splash of organic matter wet her face, but Chi-Chi didn't even blink. Bulma confusedly thought she was beautiful.

"Hurry up," Goku's wife told her, knocking down another being.

_Move ... What the hell are you doing?_

Bulma looked around frantically. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. She picked up the radar that had dropped nearby.

_He will perceive us and find us ..._

She began to run. Gohan and Chi-Chi next to her continued to fight.

_Hurry up, girl. If he finds us ..._

She dropped to her knees, starting to rummage through the ferns, regardless of what might be hidden in the vegetation. He saw Chi-Chi slicing one of the flying beings in half. Gohan fought like a little lion, knocking down enemies upon enemies ...

Bulma rushed forward, moving away a few meters and throwing herself into the tangle of leaves.

“Bulma”

"I found it," she said, when a stronger explosion threw her forward. Instinctively she protected herself behind a tree trunk. The Dragon Ball held in his hand. She looked at Chi-Chi leaning against a nearby tree. Her katana was gone. With great caution, Bulma ventured to glance over the log.

_No…_

Vegeta stood among the carcasses of the dead flying beings. His hand was closed on Gohan's throat. He kept the boy in midair. Gohan wiggled his legs in an attempt to free himself; he gathered his energy in one hand and threw it at Vegeta who just laughed scornfully. Bulma noticed that Chi-Chi was about to scream her son's name and threw herself on her. She pressed her hand to her mouth to silence her.

"I have a plan," she whispered in her ear. Bulma took the package she kept in her uniform pocket and slipped it into her hand. “I will get his attention. You use this at the right time "

"No." Chi-Chi whispered, putting a hand on her arm.

"He won't hurt me," Bulma murmured. She kept low behind the trees, approaching Vegeta. It only stopped when a second wave of flying beings fell upon the Saiyan prince. He shot them down without even wavering. The child still in its grip.

Bulma bit her lower lip, stepping over a couple of mangled corpses. Her heart was beating madly.

_He can't hear me._

_I'm too weak for him. I'm not a threat, so he pays little attention to me. He's too focused on Gohan._

Bulma moved quickly. The tense muscles. She looked at the boy, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose and mouth. She was almost next to the warrior when Vegeta's hand suddenly moved tightening on the front of his jacket. He didn't even turn to look at her, considering her a lesser threat than the half Saiyan. He lifted her off the ground as he had done with Gohan.

Power and anger emanated from him, whipping the air. He could have killed her without even realizing who she was. Bulma groaned.

"Bulma," Chi-Chi shouted from somewhere behind her.

Vegeta turned abruptly to her. Bulma had never seen such an expression on his face. A mixture of pain and surprise.

_Your eyes ... every time you look at me, I feel like I'm dying ..._

Bulma gently stroked his cheek, while the other hand closed on his wrist. There was always something inevitable every time they were so close ... something that ran inside her veins, which made her burn ...

_You won't hurt me, will you, Vegeta? You can not…_

"Bulma ..." he whispered "What ..."

Bulma suddenly tightened her grip on his wrist. She didn't even have to scream; Chi-Chi had understood her intentions now that Vegeta had both hands full.

The girl appeared out of nowhere behind the Saiyan. The syringe in his hand. She thrust it with all her strength into the base of the warrior's neck and pushed the plunger.

For a long moment, Bulma thought the needle had failed to pierce the warrior's skin, but Vegeta growled. He let go of both her and Gohan and dropped to his knees. His body was trying in every way to inhale oxygen. He tore the syringe from his neck and threw it somewhere. Bulma took a step back, torn between helping him and running away.

_What did I do to you ... but you left me there to die ... you tricked me to achieve your goals ..._

She didn't turn to look at Chi-Chi at her side. The katana dripped with blood and other undefined organic matter. Vegeta tried to get up, but fell back to his knees. His breath came out in painful gasps.

"It is a very powerful muscle relaxant, mixed with barbiturates" she told him "if I were you I wouldn't try to get up for the next fifteen minutes, Vegeta"

_But by then we will already be far away._

_I am sure that even in these conditions you will be able to defend yourself from the animals of the forest, she thought hating herself for continuing to worry about him, despite everything._

"Bulma, do you know him?" Chichi asked her. She must have felt something because he put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"It's just ... just one who tried to fuck me a couple of times. Nothing important." Bulma said in the hardest tone she could pull off.

_I thought it was more than that… I thought… fuck, Vegeta. I thought I fell in love with you and I thought you felt something too ..._

She dropped to her knees so that she looked him directly in the eye. She took the sphere and brought it in front of his face. "Do you want this?" she asked him.

Vegeta growled, trying to get up, but only managed to collapse back to the ground. Bulma put the ball back in her pocket, bringing her mouth to his ear. “I almost believed it, Vegeta. Now I'm here ... I'll kill you before you can take the spheres "

She stood up and walked over to the bike.

"Gohan, help me," she ordered. She started the bike, throwing a last look at Vegeta, still on his knees. His eyes hadn't left her even for a moment. There was something ... at the bottom of his gaze ... something that hurt.

_You feel something too, don't you? Otherwise I never would have been able to surprise you with your guard down._

She put on her helmet and immediately drove off on the motorcycle.

***

She was still cold. No matter how many blankets her mother put on her, she couldn't stop shaking. Her father had said it was from exhaustion and shock and ordered her to be given a hot bath. Bulma felt completely drained. She had let her mother and Chi-Chi help her undress and immerse herself in a tub full of hot water. They hadn't commented on the almost invisible scars on her back, the fresh bruises on her body.

She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She kept thinking about Vegeta. At that last glance he had given her. Something had broken inside her, inside him. Her mother and Chi-Chi forced her to eat and then put her to bed. The cold had subsided.

Bulma slept soundly lulled by familiar noises. She reveled in the idea of returning to her old life, with her mother humming in the kitchen and her father in danger of blowing up Capsule Corp. with some experiment. She gently turned over in the sheets. The shoulder was covered with a bluish bruise. Chi-Chi's bed was empty.

Bulma got ready rapidly, it was close to dawn. She could feel the sun press behind the horizon. She found the kitchen in full swing. Her mother is cheerful and perfect, as if it were any day. She placed a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Her. Gohan was already on his third ration. Chi-Chi handed her a cup of coffee and Bulma thought for a second, she was about to cry.

_Coffee, finally ..._

She forced herself to eat and drink everything, she needed strength to face the day.

Chi-Chi kept giving her worried looks.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she finally asked.

Bulma wanted so much to say yes, but for some reason she just shook her head. She glanced at Gohan before looking at Goku's wife again.

“I screwed up,” she whispered in a low voice so her mother couldn't hear her. She pushed back her tears and bit hard on the inside of her cheek.

Chi-Chi hesitated just a moment before putting her hand on Bulma’s, squeezing it slightly. "You can't choose, you know ..."

Bulma nodded. “He doesn't deserve it. He's not a ... good person. "

"You don't deserve love, Bulma. It just happens "

_It just happens._

_Yeah ... if a person deserved to be loved, I should have fallen in love with Goku years ago ..._

_I wish I could lie to myself and say I don't love Vegeta, but it ... it wouldn't be the truth. I loved him perhaps from the first time I saw him. There is something in him ... it is as if my soul recognizes it, as if the body acts of its own will every time I am close to him._

"Maybe you're right, but he wants to kill us," she murmured.

She finished her coffee and prepared to leave.

Chi-Chi approached her. She and Gohan were ready too. Bulma didn't ask her if she was sure she was putting her son in danger again. She told her the coordinates of the sphere and then had them repeat three times to make sure Chi-Chi had memorized them.

"Wouldn't it be better if we didn't know where you're headed?" the girl asked, watching her as she got on the bike.

"You have to lure Vegeta away from me and keep him busy as long as possible, but if he can catch you…" Bulma exhaled deeply. “Tell him everything, Chi-Chi. He will force you to give him the information in one way or another ... not ... "

_I won't let him hurt you. It would be useless and, in the end, Vegeta would still have the information._

"Do not waste time. Tell him,” she concluded, starting the engine. Bulma lightly touched the buckle of the backpack, hooked behind her. The weight of the dragon balls on her back, a faint warmth running through the light fabric, warming her skin.

_And then I'll deal with him._

Freeza's base was on a desert planet, constantly whipped by a hot, dry wind. Namek was as green as Bulma could imagine. Forests, interspersed with meadows and rock complexes. The air smelled good, like on Earth immediately after a storm or on the first day of spring.

Bulma took a deep breath, enjoying for a moment the sensation of the wind on her face, the genuine warmth of the sun on her skin.

During the journey to Namek she had given herself time to heal, the wounds that Freeza's men had inflicted on her had left no scars on her body, except for those on her back, but the memories ...

The memories had slowly resurfaced. First during feverish nightmares, then when she was awake… She wanted to simply reset the system, as if she were one of his electronic gadgets too, but she couldn't. She would never forget….

She turned the throttle fully, adhering to the bodywork. The dragon balls trembled slightly in her backpack, sending the vibration to her back.

_I am close._

Bulma swerved sharply, skimming a tree, and then scrambling up a slope. She slowed and then stopped, looking around. She took off her helmet and dropped it on the grass with a thud. There was no sign of Namekian constructions in any direction. Neither caves or caverns.

Bulma looked around. The radar was able to circumscribe the area, but for the last few meters it had to do the old way. She tucked her backpack over her shoulders, climbing over a fallen tree. Something crept away in the tall grass and Bulma decided not to investigate what it was...

_Where are you?_

She walked slowly up the slope, looking around, attentive to any slightest glimmer in the grass. She approached the slippery edge, studying the river of crystalline water that roared several hundred meters below. Bulma Kicked a small stone and watched it fall into space. She was about to walk away when a faint glint caught her eye.

Bulma smiled, running and throwing herself to her knees. She stretched an arm under a protruding rock, touching the cold and smooth surface of the dragon's last ball with her fingertips. She closed her fingers around the sphere, while a sudden movement of air ruffled her hair. The ground shook slightly, forcing her to tighten her grip on the sphere _._

_Too late, Vegeta ... you were slow ..._

She stood up, looking at the warrior standing in front of her, no more than fifty yards away. She hugged the sphere to her chest, taking a step back. If Vegeta was surprised to see her there he didn't show it.

“Stay back,” she cried, wishing she had a bomb, a flamethrower… anything to harm him physically.

Vegeta barely raised a hand, as if he was facing a wild animal and was trying to tame it. He took a step forward and Bulma reflexively retreated until she felt the emptiness behind her heel.

"Woman…"

“Where are Chi-Chi and Gohan? What have you done to them? " she asked, hating herself for not being able to stop screaming. Bulma would not have wanted to appear so weak and hurt…. Oh, because Vegeta had hurt her, much more than Freeza, much more than anyone else ... and she had been a damned fool. He had made her feel like a silly and romantic sissy ... she had made millions of romantic films and instead he ...

"Nothing. They are fine"

"Sure, you don't hurt women and children, do you?" she screamed, pouring into those words all the hatred she felt for him. "I told you to stay back, Vegeta." Bulma hissed, undoing her backpack and squeezing it against her chest. She wondered for a moment why he just didn't snatch it from her. He could have taken it by force, but somehow the Saiyan didn't come near her.

Bulma felt tears fill her eyes. She bit her lip hard, waves of pain and shame threatening to engulf her.

“They tortured me,” she whispered, digging her fingers into the fabric of the backpack. She couldn't even look him in the face. "Freeza understood that you had betrayed him, so he gathered all those who worked for you ... he believed that someone was helping you and that he could tell him where you were headed ..."

Angrily she wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of one hand, forcing herself to look at him. Vegeta's features seemed carved in stone, no emotion was going to creak the stillness of his face.

"I didn't tell him anything ... I didn't understand ..." Bulma whispered in a low voice, clutching her backpack convulsively. "I was stupid, right?"

Just a faint voice, yet she was sure Vegeta had heard her. She was sure he hadn't missed even the smallest shade of emotion. She wanted to hide from him the fact that she was hurt so badly by him.

“You are only interested in beating Freeza, at any cost. What was I supposed to be? Collateral damage? Did it ever occur to you that he could have killed me? " she screamed.

Vegeta nodded. Slowly. His eyes fixed on hers. "I thought so"

Bulma laughed, a bitter laugh that hurt.

"You thought so," she repeated, suddenly regaining her composure. Her heart was beating madly in her chest. She looked at him for a long moment, like a poker player at the final bet.

_I just have ... I need time ... just a little more time ..._

"You've always been too slow, Vegeta," she said, before jumping back into space. She felt the branches scratch her legs as the force of gravity pulled her inexorably downward.

Vegeta above her, his eyes on hers as he followed her into the ravine. Bulma slipped the hand that held the sphere into her backpack, feeling an incredible surge of energy as all the spheres made contact.

_Please ... please ..._

A thought made of images blossomed within her.

_Goku, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha and all the others ... the Earth ... please ... please ..._

She squeezed her eyes tight as Vegeta's arms stretched around her waist.

_He aimed at me… not at the spheres… she confusedly realized._

A flash of white light, the spheres becoming incandescent pressed between her body and his. She gasped in search of oxygen as the warrior skimmed the water below them and then rose up ... high ... like the first time they met, when he had protected her from the explosion.

Bulma dropped her backpack, the useless spheres scattering across the sky and becoming tiny distant spots. She took a deep breath, turning to look at Vegeta, their legs entwined, his muscular arms around his slender body.

And those eyes that were able to cloud her brain.

_Leave me ... I hate you ... leave me ..._

Bulma began to struggle, her nails trying to scratch the warrior's face.

"GOKU" she shouted, as if her own life depended on her friend's name.

Bulma felt the Saiyan's arms tighten their grip on her so as not to let her fall, when she saw an orange flash out of the corner of her eye ... a blast ... and Goku's fist that hit Vegeta's face, throwing him into back.

Bulma didn't have time to look her friend in the face before starting to fall. She saw Vegeta and Goku starting to fight, then two strong hands grabbed her. A familiar scent. Dark, smiling and kind eyes.

"I'm here, baby"

"Yamcha" she murmured, abandoning herself to his embrace.


	7. CHAPTER 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update! I promise I will never disappear again!  
> This fanfic was nominated among the Best Alternate Universe on The Prince and the Heiress Vegebul Writing and Art Community! If you would like to vote for me, you can go here: https://t.co/dnpZBSjQsg?amp=1  
> THANK YOU!

Bulma felt tired and sore. She had allowed herself a long shower hoping to erase the day's events from her limbs, but the malaise seemed to have taken root within her. She wanted to sleep and scream and bang her fists against the wall at the same time.

She ran a towel through her hair when someone knocked on the door. "Come on in"

Goku entered holding a tray in one hand. "Your mother sends you this," he said.

Bulma glanced at the chewed sandwich. "A piece is missing"

Goku started laughing, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Sorry, I was hungry," he replied, setting the tray on the nightstand and grabbing another piece of sandwich. He sat down heavily on the bed, making it disappear in a couple of mouthfuls. Bulma grabbed what was left, starting to eat more voraciously than she thought possible.

They remained silent for a few minutes, enveloped by the feeling of familiarity.

“Only Vegeta and I will face it. You will all return to Earth ” the Saiyan began, beating his knees with his hands.

Bulma almost choked on the piece of sandwich. She prevented Goku from banging her on the back for fear that he would break her rib and took a sip of water.

“What… Is Vegeta here? You…"

"Calm down, Bulma," Goku replied, raising his hands as if to calm her.

“Calm down? We can't trust him. ”She blurted out loudly, starting nervously pacing the room. The fingers rubbed the hair backwards.

"We all have the same goal," Goku replied, picking up some crumbs from the plate with his fingertip. "Besides, he's a good guy ..."

Bulma watched him for a few seconds, her mouth ajar in an expression of disbelief. Goku got up hastily and leaned against the wall as she began to insult him.

"Calm down, Bul ..." he tried shyly as she approached threateningly.

She briefly told him what Vegeta had done, waving her index finger in front of his nose. Goku let her let off steam for what seemed like an eternity before gently taking her wrists and making her drop her accusing finger. He put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye.

“I can't beat Freeza alone. The other warriors believe I can do it ... but I know I can't. Not in these conditions. "

Bulma took a deep breath and dropped into a chair. The legs suddenly run out of strength. "He ..." she murmured, looking down at Goku kneeling in front of her.

“He tricked you and hurt you,” the boy said, placing his hands on her knees “But he wants to kill Freeza. He wants it so bad he did this to you. You have to help us, you have to equip Vegeta's spacecraft so that we can train and then we'll go and starn him. Wherever it is. "

Goku playfully squeezed her knees, making them bang against each other.

“Can you do it for me? You'll see that everything will be fine "

And Bulma hated the smile that spread his lips. She hated him because Goku had his very special way of screwing her.

“Okay, I'll see what I can do. We have to organize the return to Earth, we need more supplies and ... "

The rest of the sentence was smothered against Goku's shoulder as the boy wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug. He lifted her up, spinning her around as if they were still kids. Bulma let herself put down, feeling like she was going to throw up.

"Turn around," she ordered, then quickly dressed in a Capsule Corp suit. Somehow it made her feel more like herself. She quickly brushed her long hair and marched out of the room.

She mentally begged Goku not to leave her side as she retrieved her father's toolbox.

From outside came a festive sound of laughter and cutlery. Her mother and Chi-Chi were bringing all kinds of dishes to the table. Bulma caught Krillin laughing with Gohan out of the corner of her eye. She laboriously ignored the hint of remorse she felt towards her friend ...

 _The last time we met, I killed him,_ she thought, loading the toolbox on the bike.

Yamcha walked over to her, a glass full of something highly alcoholic in his hand.

“Come celebrate, baby,” he said, taking a lock of her hair between his fingers.

Bulma lightly stroked his arm, a cold sensation sliding down her spine. She didn't have to turn around to know he was there, somewhere behind her ... His eyes glued to her figure ...

"Goku and I have to do something," he replied, pulling away from the Earth warrior and taking the helmet. She thought about it for a moment and then gave up wearing it.

_I need to get some air._

Yamcha nodded. He knew how to let her go, even when he didn't understand why.

He had always known how to do it and for this reason Bulma loved him. He had been her first love, that of awkward groping, of hasty and clumsy sex, that of missed appointments, of missed phone calls ... Their relationship had gradually faded away, like a tree slowly losing its leaves with the 'arrival of cold ... you look at it every day and every day you realize that the gaps have become so many that there is nothing left ...

They were still important to each other, but she knew that he had a whole other life away from her. There had been no scenes or fights. They had accepted the change in their relationship silently and by mutual agreement.

Bulma exhaled deeply, giving him a pat on the cheek traversed by the scar.

"Goku, do you precede me?" she said then, wearing her father's goggles and jacket to protect herself from the evening chill.

She immediately cranked up the engine, starting with a jolt, no longer looking at Yamcha.

She didn't need to turn around to know that Vegeta hadn't taken his eyes off her for a single moment.

*

"Then?" Goku asked, lifting the drop ship high with both arms.

"I don't know… maybe I should watch for another couple of minutes," Bulma replied.

Goku grimaced, settling himself better on his legs. Bulma threw her head back, bursting out laughing. “Come on, put it down,” she said, putting one of the tools back in the box. She rummaged in one of the motorcycle compartments and retrieved another LED light. She positioned it so that it illuminated the side of the ship and the control panel.

_I know Vegeta's spacecraft well. I have fixed it several times and it is perfect. No burrs, no manufacturing defects. Latest model._

Bulma sat on a rock, her legs pulled up against her chest. The brain was milling data and information. Goku settled beside her, opening a container and taking out some sandwiches.

"Your mother thought I could ..."

_…be hungry. Yes Yes i know._

She just snorted when she felt a gust of air slip down the back of her neck. She bundled herself up more in the jacket, withdrawing her hands inside the sleeves and glancing sideways at Goku.

_If you leave me alone ..._

She didn't turn as Vegeta approached in a few strides and stopped nearby. All three were concentrated on the ship, Goku devouring one sandwich after another.

“The spacecraft is perfect,” Bulma began. “However I don't know how long it can last with you two slaughtering inside. My advice is to stay here on the ground and wait for Freeza here "

"Can you reinforce it?" Goku asked with his mouth full.

Bulma shrugged. "Small changes. I could take something out of the ship I came here in, but it's basically an old wreck. It's a miracle that it didn't disintegrate when I entered the atmosphere ... then the testing ... "She ran a hand over her face. The technical work kept her mind busy and the adrenaline made her stand up. Despite this, she felt tired.

"How many chances do you have of killing him?"

"Few," replied the Saiyan prince. His dark eyes dug and seemed to see right through her. Bulma always felt incredibly naked and vulnerable when he looked at her that way.

"But it’s better than nothing," Goku added, taking out the last sandwich.

Bulma checked her pockets and retrieved her father's flask. She grimaced as she sniffed the contents. She took a long drink of it before passing it to Goku. "Go easy on that stuff" she mumbled "Last time you threw up for hours" she said, resting her chin on her arms intertwined above her knees.

She saw Goku hand the flask to Vegeta, before returning to stare at the spaceship.

"If we don't make it, they'll head to Earth to take back the planet," Goku said after a while, checking that there was nothing left in the container to munch on. "You will have to be prepared to take everyone away again."

"Do you know what you are asking me?" she replied. _I have already fought a war, my friend, and we have miserably lost. You ask me to start all over from the beginning._

Goku shrugged. "Who else should I ask to take care of my family while I'm not there?" he retorted simply.

_And as usual a few words were enough to silence me._

Bulma gave a small affirmative nod. I'll just keep Piccolo with me. If he lives, the spheres on earth will also be active. I'll send as many people away as possible, except the two of us. I will bring you back to life and you will challenge him again and again until you manage to kill him.

It was cold. She was no longer used to that cold after months on the planet that housed the Freeza base. Or maybe it was the tiredness ... she felt so tired ...

_I don't know if I can start all over from the beginning. It is as if the war against Freeza is slowly wiping out all my energy._

She glanced at Vegeta. He had never stopped looking at her since he arrived.

_Or maybe it's the war against him._

_It will continue to drain me._

"Well, then it's settled," Goku exclaimed, standing up and handing Dr. Briefs' flask to her. Bulma put it back in her pocket, without looking at her friend.

"Go ahead. I'll join you shortly”.

Goku looked first at Bulma then at Vegeta as if he was considering whether it was safe to leave her there with him. Goku pondered the situation for a few more moments before muttering something indistinct and taking off. Bulma waited for Vegeta to break the silence that had arisen, hugging even more in her arms.

_Say something, damn it. Say anything._

She blinked a couple of times, realizing with horror that she was on the verge of tears.

"You ..." she began.

She cleared her throat, again trying to speak without shaking her voice "Are you going to say something?"

She squeezed the fabric of the jacket tightly between her fingers as the warrior's legs came into her view.

She shivered as she felt Vegeta's hand on her hair, a light touch.

His fingertips brushed her jaw, then descended to her neck.

Bulma grabbed his wrist, looking up at him.

_You're not going to say anything, are you? You hope to appease me by touching me. You know the effect you have on me ..._

"That's not how it works, Vegeta," she whispered, getting up and moving away from him a few steps.

_You can't just fuck me to make things right. I don't know how it works between you fucking aliens, but now we do it the human way._

She folded her arms across her chest, still looking at him defiantly.

_Last chance…_

"Well?" she asked, just arching an eyebrow. The warrior continued to remain silent. Fists clenched hard along the hips. His whole body expressed great tension, but not a single word left his lips.

_Yeah ... I had to imagine ..._

Bulma snorted, pulling up the zipper of her jacket and quickly reaching the bike. _You are impossible, Vegeta. I tried to understand you ..._

She turned back to him. The cold evening wind crept under her clothes, making her shiver.

"Do you love me?" she asked suddenly.

_It's a simple question. If we had met normally, I would never have asked you, not at this point, but there is nothing normal in what is happening to us and as crazy as it may seem, I know that I love you._

Bulma exhaled loudly. “If you have to think about it, it means the answer is no. Goodbye, Vegeta "

_It means I've been a silly little woman. One of those I've always hated._

"Yes"

Bulma froze. Her treacherous heart sped up. A feeling of warmth bloomed in the middle of her chest. She bit her lip hard before looking at him.

"You love me," she repeated to make sure she understood correctly. "You love me and you left..."

Her voice broke into a thousand splinters of pain. _How could you? You love me and you let them torture me. Fuck, Vegeta ... you ... how can you not realize? Such as…_

“I was going to bring you back to life with the Dragon Balls… once Freeza was defeated. I suspected that he could guess my intentions and that he could question all those who... "

Vegeta's voice stopped for a moment.

"I thought ..." he murmured softly. The shoulders were tense, the muscles of the arms trembled slightly. "What?" she murmured, hoping he would say anything to get her to stay, to change her mind, to prove that he wasn't that big piece of shit.

“I thought you could handle it… that… I saw what you did to save your planet. I thought that... you were insignificant enough to remain in the shadows. "

Bulma frowned, studying him for a few seconds.

"Did you let a bad thing happen to me just because you thought I could handle it?"

"I thought it was worth it ... I thought you would understand ... that you would survive anything to kill Freeza," the Saiyan replied.

"Stop it!" snapped Bulma, throwing the helmet at him and missing him by a good couple of meters. "I too had expected to die, but I didn't ..."

_I didn't really believe it. And it wasn't up to you to decide anyway. I…_

“I wouldn't have done that to you,” she muttered, blinking a few times to blink back the tears. "You don't do such a thing to the person you love," she concluded in a whisper. She swallowed hard, returning to the bike.

She started the bike and drove off without looking back. The strong wind whipped her face and flapped her clothes.

_I don't know what was between us, Vegeta._

_I don't know if it was attraction or just loneliness… or if it was really love. It hurts so much that it can't be anything else… but whatever it was is over._

_I can't… I can't forgive you. I can bear the memory of being tortured, but I can't forgive you for letting it happen._

_This fanfic was nominated among the Best Alternate Universe on The Prince and the Heiress Vegebul Writing and Art Community! If you would like to vote for me, you can go here:<https://t.co/dnpZBSjQsg?amp=1>  
THANK YOU!_


	8. CHAPTER 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in publishing the chapter!  
> I hope you enjoy :-)

Bulma woke up suddenly. Her heart was pounding in her chest, a feeling of suffocation gripping her throat. For a moment she thought she was in her room at Capsule Corp. but the noises coming from outside were not the right ones ...

She washed her face with cold water, erasing even the last remnants of sleep. She dressed indolently, then dragged herself out of the room. Her mother and Chi-Chi had set up a large table outside and there was an unusual air of celebration, as if they were a group of friends who had gone out of town for a picnic.

Bulma dropped onto one of the benches, her eyes puffy. She had fallen asleep just before dawn and her sleep was agitated and not very refreshing.

"Coffee," she mumbled, scratching her temple with a finger. Black, hot. It was the only thing she needed. She made a face when her mother placed a plate full of pancakes and fruit in front of her. "I'm not hungry," she tried to rebel.

“You have to eat, honey. You're skin and bones, ”Mrs. Briefs chirped, sailing toward the back of the ship. "Gohan, breakfast," she called, waving a hand.

Bulma yawned loudly, grabbing a fork.

_If I don't eat at least a few bites, my mother will continue to torment me._

_But I'm absolutely not hungry. I'm too pissed off and too painful ..._

_Vegeta and I broke up… or something like that… and I have every right to be brutalized and sick and not eat… he mused darkly._

She reached down with a hand to stroke the cat that was rubbing against her legs.

"You came in late tonight," said Mrs. Briefs, a mischievous glint lighting up her eyes. Bulma grunted, trying to ignore her. She felt like she was twenty again and came back with her shoes in hand after a night of dancing. "I hope you and that handsome boy have made up" she squeaked, tilting her head a little to the side with a dreamy air.

Bulma took a sip of black coffee.

"Vegeta and I didn't make up," she replied, grabbing a couple more pancakes. She hadn't even realized she had made it to the end of the first portion.

Mrs. Briefs gave a flirtatious chuckle. "But I was talking about Yamcha."

Bulma cursed herself internally. She should have known it was a trap. Her mother's ... the biggest pain in the ass in the galaxy. Because the whole Earth wasn't enough for her, she had now managed to extend her dominion to neighboring planets.

"He was very disappointed that you didn't spend some time together ... He has just come back to life and I suspect he wants to get back with you, but Vegeta ... oh he's so charming!"

"He's an asshole," Bulma muttered, between mouthfuls, when her mother hit her with a wooden spoon.

"Mum!" exclaimed massaging the injured part.

"That's not how I raised you, miss!" Mrs. Briefs replied sternly. “Now go inside, put on a cute dress and go make up with that handsome boy. Always with these overalls, honey ... "

_She is crazy, there is no other explanation. I would like to say that it was the journey and the shock of seeing her house destroyed that drove her crazy, but no… she was like that before._

Bulma took her last sip of coffee, while Gohan sat down at the table. Cheeks flushed from training. He waited for his mother to get distracted trying to feed Chi-Chi and Goku's son before slipping away. She slowly moved her neck from side to side, feeling more awake. She went through all of the day's activities in her head as she joined her father in the back.

"Have the spaceships already left?" she asked, taking an electronic component and turning it over in her hands. Her father nodded, dropping some cigarette ash.

“We will be the last to return to Earth. We have enough supplies for the return journey. All systems are in order, but I would like to make some improvements to the boys' ship, ”said Mr. Briefs, rolling out a blueprint on the table. He had done it by hand, pinning notes in the margins that only the two of them could read.

Bulma smiled, bending over to examine it. She deeply inhaled the smell of her father: a mixture of tobacco and peppermint.

"Do you want to remove these components from our spaceship to put them on ..."

_…. Vegeta's one. You can say his name, girl._

"On the other ship?"

Mr. Briefs nodded, gently chasing away the cat, which was trying to curl up on the computer keyboard.

"Okay, let's start disassembling ours and then I'll look for some volunteers to help us carry the heavier components"

Bulma threw herself into work, pausing only to consult with her father. Her mind totally focused on what she was doing. It was the thing that she was best able to solve practical problems, expressed with an equation or a circuit ... She loved putting the world in order, rearranging it according to precise rules.

_Mathematics doesn't lie_ , one of her university professors once told her. If it seems to us that it does it is only because we have not yet understood how it works.

Maybe that was why she had decided to become a scientist. She could have been a maid or a fictional role in her father's society, spending her life amidst parties, shopping and frivolous entertainment. Instead, at the age of sixteen, she left with her motorcycle to embark on an adventure that changed her life. She dedicated herself to work with seriousness and dedication, not avoiding getting up early and making sacrifices.

Bulma passed her arm across her forehead, closing the panel on top of the ship. The hot sun beating on her back. She looked down as the warriors returned for dinner.

She watched Krillin fall to the ground and burst out laughing, immediately followed by Goku and Gohan ... then Yamcha blushed when Mrs. Briefs complimented his biceps ...

_My family…_ she thought with a pang in her stomach. It seems impossible that everyone is here again. Until yesterday most of the people gathered below were dead ...

_Maybe tomorrow some of us will die ... maybe something bad will happen to us again, but now we are here, we are alive ..._

She narrowed her eyes, lifting her face into the sun and feeling incredibly alive.

_Maybe that's what matters ... we're here now ..._

She shivered slightly, inhaling deeply.

_Vegeta too ... he's here too. Now._

_But tomorrow ... tomorrow he may no longer be there ... He may decide to go to the other side of the universe or ..._

She opened her eyes again, fixing her gaze on an indistinct spot.

_Now it's up to you, girl. Can you bear the idea that Vegeta is somewhere in the universe and that you are not with him? Even with everything he did to you ..._

She looked down at Chi-Chi, who was berating Goku for allowing Gohan to get dirty again.

_Love is not deserved. It just happens._

"Damn," Bulma muttered, quickly climbing down the ladder. She looked at her reflection in one of the ship's portholes, cursing herself for ignoring her mother's words. Maybe she should have put on a dress or at least got her hair fixed. She looked like some kind of savage.

She ran her fingers nervously through her hair, grabbing the motorcycle keys.

"Honey, dinner will be ready soon"

"Don't wait for me," Bulma replied, getting on the bike. She skidded to the side due to sudden acceleration and was forced to hold on. She cursed herself by taking the bike back onto the path, the evening air began to make its way under her light shirt, making her shiver.

_You're a stupid girl_ she told herself. She gave the gas, suddenly ducking her head to avoid a branch. She stopped the bike in the clearing where Vegeta had landed the drop ship.

She watched the Saiyan go slowly down the ramp. The bare chest, crossed by the dark shadow of an old bruise. A fresh bruise was blooming on the shoulder. Muscular legs, damp hair after a shower.

Bulma confusedly thought that he and Goku must have been fighting all day in some isolated corner of the planet. She stared at him, suddenly feeling petrified.

_I'm so pissed off with you._

She wanted to run to him and slap him. She would have liked to snatch that granite expression off his face with fingernails.

Bulma took the first, difficult step towards him.

_This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life._

She continued walking as in a dream, one step after another ... while Vegeta's features became more outlined in the twilight of the sunset ... the heat of his body barely perceptible.

Bulma reached out, brushing his arm and then lingering on his shoulder. She felt him tremble under her touch. She looked into his eyes for a long moment, realizing he was holding his breath.

He doesn't touch me ... he never touches me for fear of what might happen ...

She took another step, slowly lowering her hand to his chest. She stroked every line, every hollow, following the pattern of his muscles, until she stopped on the edge of his shorts. She lifted up on her toes and brushed his lips with hers, breathing in his breath ... feeling the scent ...

_t's more than that ... more than his scent ... I recognize him ... whenever we're this close ..._

Her lips parted more, sinking a hand into his hair. She squeezed a few strands between her fingers and tugged it forward. Vegeta sought her mouth with his, involving her in a kiss that had the sweet taste of waiting.

_This is… this is the point of no return…_ she thought as Vegeta lifted her off the ground with one arm. Bulma tilted her head back as Vegeta's lips drifted down her neck. His hands traced hot paths on her skin, freeing her of her clothes. This was how it was meant to be… this was how it was meant to be burn and die and live at the same time.

She let out a low moan as Vegeta laid her down on the bed. The fresh sheets under her bare back… She bit her lower lip as Vegeta slid her pants and panties down her hips. She stared into his eyes, feeling something twist inside her in a knot of pleasure and pain ...

_His eyes ... when he looks at me like that ..._

"Vegeta," she whispered, lightly stroking him. He met her lips with his in a long, warm kiss. Vegeta's fingers running along her body, a possessive caress that made hot shivers bloom on her skin ...

"Please," she whispered as Vegeta's hand slipped between her legs, his fingers caressed her, which made her tense with pleasure and expectation ... which carried her up ... from where it seemed impossible to get off ...

"Please," she murmured again, placing a hand on the back of his neck. She stroked him slowly, biting his neck and snatching a low moan… a hot sound that reverberated in her lower belly. He took off his shorts and settled himself better on her.

She looked into his eyes, breathing into his mouth as Vegeta pushed into her.

_I don't care if you die tomorrow ... or if you leave ... you are here now ..._ Bulma thought, arching her back as she followed his movements. Vegeta's body was massive, made of roughness and solidity ... of steel and fire ...

Bulma clung to him, pleasure building in waves ... sweat dripping in hot torrents ... She dug her fingers into his wide back, throwing her head back ... Vegeta's lips on her neck ... his hands ... him inside her…

Bulma sobbed his name over and over ... as the pleasure grew so intense it swept her away into starry skies ... She blinked a couple of times, her heart pounding in her temples, his breath hot and heavy ...

She groaned slightly, feeling him increase the pace of the thrusts. His hips sculpted against her... his hands sinking into her skin ...

She had been fucked enough times to know Vegeta was holding back. She slowly ran her fingers up his spine, then paused at the base of his back.

She abruptly pulled him into her, hooking her legs around his waist to allow him to move more smoothly. She caressed his neck with her lips in a hot kiss and then reached his ear.

"Fuck me, Saiyan ... I won't break ..." she hissed, rubbing her nose against him.

Vegeta growled… a low animal snarl that ran through his chest as he abruptly plunged into her. For a second Bulma thought she was going to really shatter, but then Vegeta forced her into a new rhythm and she screamed… Breath crumbled into a thousand splinters, her body throbbing and screaming with pleasure and pain.

She wanted to tell him to stop… because it was too much… the feelings… it was all just too much to handle.

And Bulma wanted to tell him to go on ... not to stop because her life depended on that ... Bulma arched her back screaming again ... again and again ...

_Don't ... it's not possible that he's making me cum again ..._

Bulma felt Vegeta thrust inside her in the latest powerful thrusts. His fingers tightened on her hair, pulling her head back to be able to sink his teeth into her neck. Her eyes widened, struggling to breathe as her body lost itself again in a tumult of spasms and pleasure. Vegeta trembled as his body slowly lost tension, his fingers relaxed in her hair, his lips barely touched her neck ...

_He ... left his mark on me ..._

Bulma smiled faintly, realizing she couldn't even think straight. Vegeta started to retreat, but she held him back to brush his lips with her own. A lazy and intimate kiss that the Saiyan returned to the edge of his lips, before abandoning himself on the mattress beside her.

_That's what it means to be fucked properly, girl_ , she thought, covering her forehead with one arm. She relaxed languidly against the sheets, damp with their sweat, taking all the time in the world to catch her breath.

_If I had known that Saiyans fuck like this, I would have fucked Goku years ago._

Bulma let out a silly chuckle, turning to Vegeta. She bent one arm to support her head as she looked at the warrior's profile. There was something incredibly severe in his expression, but she saw nuances ... small details, like those that a painter had added as the last thing on an already finished canvas.

She touched his forehead with the tip of a finger, then lingering between his eyebrows. She applied light pressure, to clear his frown.

_It was… unbelievable…_ Vegeta imprisoned her hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed her palm without looking at her.

_Yesterday you said you love me. You didn't really say it ... but you admitted it. I… I suspected it. I read it the way you look at me, but yesterday you ..._

Bulma gave him a light kiss on the shoulder.

The intimacy was created between them ... the passion ... Bulma had heard it break from the first time they met ... something wild and primitive, impossible to manage, to rationalize ...

"I'm thirsty," she announced, getting to her feet. She looked for her shirt and panties.

"Don't put them on"

She arched an eyebrow, turning to Vegeta. She felt something twist in her chest as she ran her gaze over his naked body. Arm softly bent behind the head. "I want to look at your ass while you go get me some water"

Bulma threw her head back and burst out laughing. She ran her fingers through her hair before turning her back to him. She threw him a mischievous look over her shoulder, as she showed off her sexiest walk.

She opened one of the hidden compartments and retrieved two bottles of water.

"Maybe we should equip the spacecraft with ..." she said when Vegeta grabbed her arm, bringing her back to the mattress. The bottles rolled on the floor.

Bulma let out a small sigh as the Saiyan covered her with his body. His hand lingering on her side, his mouth lazily caressing her breasts.

"You are ... again ..." she whispered.

Vegeta took her hand, guiding it onto his erect member again. Bulma closed her fist on him, enjoying the touch of his mouth on her skin.

_Yes ... it's definitely hard again ..._

She sighed languidly at his name, spreading her legs for him. She guided him inside her, savoring her every move. She reached for his mouth for a kiss, their tongues barely touching, as Vegeta slowly and deeply fucked her.

_How is it possible that you have this effect on me ... I ... should be ashamed of how much I get excited ..._

"Vegeta," she murmured, touching the base of his back. She could feel his muscles contracting, his hips pushing against her ... "what are we doing?"

"It seems clear to me what we are doing ..." the Saiyan muttered in response, sinking deeper into her. He continued to move at his slow, exhausting pace, lifting himself up on one arm so he could watch her. And Bulma felt dying and burning again, as Vegeta's dark eyes locked on hers.

She shivered as the Saiyan gently brushed her hair away from her face and leaned over her. "Stop talking," he ordered, before kissing her deeply.

*

Bulma moved lazily, her whole body pleasantly sore. An alarm stylet went through her as she realized that Vegeta was no longer in bed with her.

She pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts, sitting up.

She spotted him on the other side of the ship, he was already fully dressed apart from the armor. The usual frown on his face.

"Good morning," she said trying to sound normal. Vegeta didn't answer. Not even a small nod.

Bulma felt incredibly stupid. She didn't know what she was expecting, but… she just shook her head, wrapping herself in the sheets and getting back on her feet.

_Get dressed, girl. Your wild night is over. He hasn't even kicked you out in the middle of the night… but he'll surely want you to leave now._

She wanted to pick up his clothes off the floor, but she preferred to wait for him to get out of the spaceship.

"You could also ..."

_Avoid making me feel like shit and don't act like an asshole for once._

"Forget it," she murmured, retrieving her shirt.

_I just want to get out of here. It was all a ..._

"Come here," Vegeta said in what seemed dangerously an order.

Bulma raised her chin defiantly. She took a few steps towards him, when Vegeta grabbed her by the arm and made her approach abruptly. His nose brushed her hair and then her neck, inhaling deeply. His hand adhered to her side, it was warm and reassuring through the thin fabric of the sheet.

"Kakarot will be here soon," Vegeta whispered against his forehead.

"So?" Bulma replied gruffly, trying to ignore the thrill of pleasure running down her spine. His hand crept under the sheet to caress her bare skin.

"Then you can't turn me on again by walking around half naked," he muttered, his hand slowly moving up to her breasts. Bulma smiled, snapping an arm around his neck. She looked at him innocently, biting her lower lip.

"That would be a really big deal," she whispered, slowly letting the sheet slide down her body.

“Vegeta! You're awake?"

Bulma stifled a laugh as Vegeta picked up the sheet from the floor and quickly covered her. "Yes, give me a minute, you idiot," he shouted. He inhaled and exhaled deeply a couple of times, before reaching the door without looking at her.

"Tonight," he murmured alone.

Bulma smiled faintly.

_Yes, tonight._

_***_

_I can not breath. I ... I can't breathe ..._

Bulma pursed her lips, but her ribcage was unable to expand. It was like being held in a steel vice. She clawed her throat, trying disparate to inhale a breath of air.

_I'm going to suffocate… broken ribs pierced my lungs._

_I can not breathe._

"Woman"

Strong hands shaking her.

_I can not breathe. I can not breathe._

_I see nothing. It is too dark._

_I can not breathe…_

"Bulma"

Bulma's eyes snapped open. Her chest rose and fell trying to inhale a quantity of air that always seemed insufficient. She sat up abruptly, pushing Vegeta away badly.

_It's over. Breathe. It's over._

_Freeza is not here. He can't do anything to you anymore. Goku ... will kill him and he will never get close to you again._

Bulma brushed her sweat-soaked hair from her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing only on her breath.

"Everything is alright. It was just a nightmare, ”she said, not sure if to herself or Vegeta. She stood up and retrieved a bottle of water. She drank in small sips, her whole body trembling. Vegeta's eyes seemed to be scanning her in search of the smallest clue to be able to decipher her behavior. Bulma took another sip of water, then tying her hair in a bun. He ran a hand over her neck, walking back to the bed.

"It's happened to me a lot since ... you know," Bulma added, lying on the mattress.

She covered her eyes with her arm, tapping her belly with her fingertips. Can we go back to sleep? _I hate it when you look at me like that ... like a weird animal. You don't know whether to train me or shoot me down._

"It happens often ... what?" Vegeta asked her.

_No, let's not go back to sleep._

Bulma waited a few seconds, hoping he would let it go, but the warrior's eyes didn't stop staring at her. She let out a long sigh as she sat down again. Her back slumped against the pillows.

"Nightmares. I dream… you know… Freeza, torture. It's normal. I think it's post traumatic stress disorder or something” she said, brushing a lock of hair from her face. Vegeta frowned, continuing to examine her with his eyes.

_If he keeps staring at me like that, another head will pop up._

"It's normal," he repeated again. She licked her lips, barely caressing the warrior's arms. He looks shaken. Almost as if he were the one to comfort.

"Nightmares, flashbacks of what happened as if I were reliving it, physical discomfort ... it's ..."

_Don't say normal._

"Is this what happens ... to you humans?"

Bulma arched an eyebrow. “Well… generally yes. When a person experiences trauma, the mind struggles to accept it. There may be repercussions "

Vegeta nodded slowly. Bulma stared at him, waiting for him to continue speaking, but the Saiyan seemed unable to find the most suitable words to express himself.

“You had a nightmare. For what Freeza did to you, ”he finally said, as if those words sounded strange.

Bulma nodded. She hesitated just a moment before taking Vegeta's hand with hers. She tilted her head to the side, studying his expression. "Doesn't that happen to Saiyans?" she asked softly.

Vegeta looked away, intertwining his fingers with his. "Nightmares? No, ”he replied grumpily.

_Yeah, I had to figure it out. Your discipline prevents you from having moments of giving in even while you sleep. So no nightmares, no post traumatic stress disorder. You can't afford it, can_ you?

Bulma slowly slid onto his legs, hooking her arms around his neck. She waited for him to look at her again, before tenderly stroking his cheek.

"I'm human," she whispered. "Don't ... don't take too many things for granted," she added.

Vegeta wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. He didn't answer. He never did.

***

Bulma had checked and rechecked the data, repeating each operation several times in order to delay the departure for a couple of days, but in the end she had to surrender to the evidence: they were ready to go. Chi-Chi and Gohan had been crying, her mother had started preparing a lucullian dinner and she ... she had gone to Vegeta's ship.

She'd been sitting outside waiting for him, an old drone to fix in her hands. She had seen him land dirty and wounded, one eyebrow was caked with dried blood. They had looked at each other for a few seconds.

She had told him they would leave the following day. He didn't answer, he never did.

He had undressed her, caressing her body as if he wanted to imprint it in his memory. He had made love to her in the shower, the hot water soaking her hair. Vegeta's mouth stealing her breath.

Bulma had loved the warmth of his hands, his mouth on hers ...

They had made love every night, whispering words to each other in the half-light that they would not be able to repeat to each other looking into each other's eyes. They had stolen precious minutes from the inevitable, but in the end the inevitable had flushed them out. Bulma had waited for dawn with the anguish of an execution. Two large tears rolled down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand.

When asked how many chances they had of defeating Freeza, Vegeta had answered enough. Enough was better than a few. Enough was ... She sat outside, hoping that the fresh air would clear her brain. She had stood there as Vegeta prepared for departure, hoping there was a hitch… anything that would keep him staying.

He had seen Goku arrive shortly after dawn, a stupid smile on his face. He had approached her, his expression darkened as he realized her state of mind.

Bulma took a deep breath, getting to her feet. "Give me a minute," she murmured, stepping back into the drop ship. Vegeta turned away from her, Everything in his posture conveyed tension. Bulma had approached slowly. She had placed her forehead against his broad back, inhaling his scent and enjoying the warmth of his body for one last time.

Don't make it even harder, she scolded herself.

She slowly stroked his back. “You have enough fuel to… When it's over. The on-board computer will give you a constant update and we have installed a new renewable energy source… it works with solar, wind energy… "

He already knows. You already told him. Many times.

Bulma swallowed hard. It's over now, you just have to wish him good luck and let him go.

Bulma felt her stomach contract. She kissed Vegeta's back again, sliding her arms around his waist and squeezing him slightly. The Saiyan's hand covered hers for a moment.

_I will miss your hands. Your face ... I will miss all of you ..._

"Kick that fucking lizard in the ass," she muttered. Bulma placed a last kiss on Vegeta's back and then backed away. She covered her mouth with one hand to stifle a sob as she ran out of the ship. She hadn't asked him to join her on Earth. She had been on the verge of doing so several times, she had felt the words forming in her mind, but then she had given up.

The two of them… they weren't like that… they didn't have that kind of relationship.

He had admitted he loved her, but sometimes love is just an accident.

Bulma passed Goku's side, sobs tightening her throat so much that she couldn't say hello to her old friend. Her hands were shaking so much that she ran the risk of dropping the bike. She was about to get on the bike when Vegeta's arms suddenly encircled her.

The nose in her hair, the arms holding her tight enough to threaten to break her.

Bulma sobbed loudly, bowing her head forward. Her tears dotted the body of the bike.

_We're not like that… we didn't… we had fun but it's over. I have a life on Earth to return to and you ..._

Vegeta's lips on his temple in a light kiss.

_Say something, please ... say anything ..._

Vegeta's mouth found her ear, a warm breath that sent chills down her spine. "Don't get killed," he murmured. He laid a trail of light kisses along her neck, sinking his face into the hollow between the neck and shoulder.

Bulma felt him inhale hard, before loosening her from his embrace. The cold shattered her from within. She got on the bike and drove off without

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :-)  
> If you like, leave me a comment :-)


	9. CHAPTER 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for all the comments, I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

She moved her neck cautiously, emitting a pained moan. She had fallen asleep on her desk again, like when she was in her twenties.

Her mother's voice pierced her skull. She accepted the cup of coffee the blonde woman was holding out to her, trying to figure out what time it was.

“You can't continue like this, honey. Look at your hair ... it's full of split ends "

"Mom," she mumbled, trying to push the evil fingers away from the lock of hair. "I have work for ..."

It had been nearly six months since they returned to Earth, and in that time she had spent every single day working on the evacuation plan and upgrading the defensive structures. Capsule Corp. had experienced a sudden development, expanding the number of offices, reaching all continents, and employing several thousand people. In spite of everything, however, she and her father had decided to keep their laboratory and all the nerve centers on the first two floors of the historic site, that is their home.

Which undoubtedly had advantages.

"Now stop". Hands on hips, accusing finger pointed at her.

And undoubtedly also some disadvantages.

"Get dressed," Mrs. Briefs ordered, grabbing her by the armpits and pulling her back to her feet. "You'll take a day off."

Bulma exhaled deeply, mentally searching for an excuse her mother would consider acceptable. Eventually, she had to give up and follow her blonde parent to the hairdresser and then to a never-ending series of shops. They returned home after an elegant lunch; the car loaded with bags. Bulma touched her hair, which reached just above her shoulders.

She stood up on her toes and kissed her mother's cheek before watching her sail towards the kitchen. Bulma stretched lazily wondering if it was a horrible person to take the rest of the day off… she could relax by the pool, maybe.

 _Okay, after a few things_ she allowed herself. She put on her lab coat and sat down at the computer. Bulma quickly typed on the keys for almost half an hour before slumping back in her chair. She put on the headphones and brought the microphone to her mouth.

“Message for spacecraft H8896,” she said. Bulma had tried every day, even though she knew it was nearly impossible to communicate with Goku and Vegeta. The signal was not strong enough. "Message for ..."

Bulma stopped suddenly. All the monitors had started flashing.

"There is something ..." she murmured, as she was joined by her father.

_Something has just appeared in the Earth's atmosphere ... it's just too close to Earth. It is as if it came out of nowhere._

"Does it have permission to land?"

_Fuck, no..._

Bulma jumped up, pressing the alarm button, which began to ring ominously in Capsule Corp. _If there is someone stronger than an ordinary human being on that ship or whatever it is, the others will have already sensed it._

_They will be heading there._

"Get ready," she said, quickly putting on her jacket and running out.

_It can't be him, girl. You don't even know if he's still alive. And even if he were, he wouldn't necessarily be heading here. He could leave Goku on a desert planet and disappear._

Bulma set the coordinates of the point where the aircraft had just landed and let the plane take off. Something green darted past her, immediately followed by an orange spot.

_Piccolo, Krillin ..._

Bulma flew after them to an uninhabited area about thirty kilometers away from Capsule Corp. She dropped her speed sharply when Piccolo stopped. Bulma landed the plane, letting the warriors form a defensive line in front of her. Bulma peeked at the spacecraft with binoculars, focusing on the mechanical parts, before looking in the direction of the cockpit.

_There's someone in there ... he's not moving ..._

"It's too small to be a spaceship," she said aloud, joining Krillin. "What are we doing? Shall we get closer to take a look? " she proposed "Or are we waiting to be joined by others too?"

Piccolo gave her a glacial look. She watched him go ahead, the cloak blowing in the wind making him look even bigger. He ordered the occupant of the spacecraft to get off without receiving a response.

"Maybe he doesn't understand our language," Bulma ventured. Piccolo let out a hiss.

_He really hates me ..._

"Well we can't stay here all day," she snapped. "The spacecraft opening should be that button up there. Who is going to press it? "

"I'll do it," the earth warrior offered. Piccolo growled. He leapt into the capsule, muscles tense ready to jump off at the first sign of danger. The hatch lifted with a loud snort. "He's ... he's just a boy. He's passed out, "Krillin said, getting into the cockpit to be able to unfasten his seat belt. He put the boy on his shoulder and then deposited him cautiously on the ground.

_It's true… Even though he looks like a warrior, he's just a boy, little more than a teenager._

Bulma knelt beside him, placing two fingers on his neck.

"He's alive, but his heart rate is very weak," she said. She lifted his lids to check his pupils with a flashlight. "They don't react"

_I don't know exactly what that means but it doesn't have to be a good sign._

"Is he one of your technicians with an experimental machine?" Krillin asked, crouching on the other side of the boy and taking his arm. He lifted it to show her something about his jacket.

"But that ..."

_It is the Capsule Corp logo. There is also one on the capsule. He may have stolen the jacket, but I'm sure that's not one of our prototypes_

“I have no idea who he is, but we have to help him. Let's take him to Capsule Corp. " she decided "Put him on my plane and get on with me ... in case he regains consciousness and becomes dangerous".

*

They placed him in the infirmary, letting the doctors give him all possible care. Her mother kept fluttering from side to side, organizing dinner and giving orders. For her disposition, all warriors would sleep there, at Capsule Corp., at least until the boy regained consciousness.

Meanwhile, Bulma had the capsule transported inside one of the warehouses and looked for it in the database with the serial number. She and her father had ventured several explanations, but none seemed to fit perfectly. After dinner, she went up to check on the boy. The doctors had given him a sedative.

Bulma sat down beside her bed, studying her face carefully. There was something indefinitely familiar about him.

"Still nothing?" asked her mother, placing a vase of perfumed flowers on the bedside table. To liven up the room, she would say.

"No." Bulma replied. She reached out a hand, perhaps with the intention of placing it on that of the boy in a gentle gesture but stopped.

“He has hair like yours when you were very little. What a bizarre thing! " her mother chirped, putting her hands to her chest in a melodramatic gesture.

"What?" Bulma murmured, blinking.

"Yeah ... The hair ..." replied Mrs, Briefs giving a mom caress to the sleeping boy's head. "He's quite a handsome young man" she sighed dreamily.

“Mom, could he be related to us in any way? He had a jacket from Capsule Corp. "

_And he arrived on one of our prototypes ... a prototype that doesn't exist ..._

Mrs. Briefs launched into a thorough review of all their relatives, getting lost in a thousand details, without coming to anything conclusive. She was about to retrace her grandfather's sixth grade family tree when the boy let out a soft groan. Bulma leaned over to him, watching him lift his eyelids and then pull them back down with a yelp of pain.

"The light ... turn it down please"

_Maybe the light bothers him._

She took his hand, squeezing it softly. "Don't worry, you had an accident"

_Or at least I think._

"You're among friends," she added in an attempt to calm him down, but the boy was trying to sit up despite the pain.

"What day is today?" he asked, breathing hard. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead. Bulma gently placed a hand on his shoulder with the intention of making him lie down again.

"You need to rest ... is there someone we can contact?"

"The date," the boy shouted. Bulma said the date in a murmur, as he angrily tore the electrodes to monitor his vital functions.

"Krillin," Bulma called out loud, taking a step back so as not to be hit when something caught her attention.

_His expression ... so serious. As if he had all the weight of the world on his shoulders._

The boy froze too, focusing on her for the first time. They observed each other for a few seconds.

Bulma reached out, placing a fingertip between his eyebrows. She lightly pressed with her finger as if to stretch his features. The boy parted his lips in a surprised expression. He stammered something incomprehensible as his face lost color.

"Get away from her," Piccolo ordered from behind him as the ground warriors burst into the room.

"It's okay" Bulma replied "He won't hurt me"

_Isn't that right, strange boy? If you had wanted to, you would have already done so._

The boy nodded slowly, before sliding his gaze on those present. He was silent for a moment, concern darkening his face.

"Where is Goku?" he asked no one in particular.

“Goku is not here. He and Vegeta left to fight Freeza "

The boy paled even more if that was ever possible. He supported himself on the bed, swaying. "It is not possible. He must be here ... he has always been there. " she whispered in a faint voice.

"The time has come for you to tell us everything," Piccolo decreed.

***

Bulma started making coffee. The laboratory was silent at that time of night. The lights illuminated only her station, creating pools of darkness all around. Bulma sat down at the desk, turning a Rubik's cube in her hands. She began to manipulate it, lost in her thoughts.

The story the boy from the future had told them was at least… credible. Androids would arrive in three years. A destroyed future. Someone who built a time machine like in the most classic of science fiction stories.

He was jumping from one timeline to another, looking for Goku for an important reason that he hadn't wanted to reveal. Theirs was the eighth timeline he broke into ... And every time he saved a timeline from the terrible fate of his own, time shattered ...

Bulma glanced in the direction of the capsule with the unobtainable serial number. Now Bulma knew it was a time machine with her father's company logo stamped on the side. The same logo that was sewn on the boy's jacket.

She closed her eyes, throwing her mind free to work. The words of the boy of the future ... the Capsule Corp. logo ... he didn't say who built the spaceship. He didn't say why he was somehow related to ...

 _To me_ , Bulma realized with dismay. She opened the first aid kit and took out a syringe. She rolled up her sleeve and drew some blood. Then she retrieved the test tube with the boy's blood. The doctors had wanted to do all the tests to exclude any risk.

Bulma arranged the blood samples on two slides and then fed them into a machine.

_You are crazy. Lack of sleep has made you paranoid and gullible. Everyone else is skeptical. Why not you? Why did you immediately believe that bizarre story?_

She poured herself a cup of coffee, adding cream and sugar as a treat. The pieces of the puzzle swirling in his mind.

"Because it is scientifically solid." she murmured, stirring the coffee. The gaze lost in the void.

_"This is the first time I miss him," he said. He was referring to Goku. In the other timelines maybe there are fixed points… something immutable that must never change… why is ours different? And how is it?_

She looked at the double-sided cube when the machine signaled that it had finished scanning. She took the answer, already knowing in the back of her mind what would be written there.

_DNA markers ..._

"Fuck ... Fuck!"

***

"Are you sure you don't want more sandwiches for the trip?" chirped Mrs. Briefs, handing the boy of the future an already generous portion of provisions.

"He said no, Mom," Bulma replied, making her take a few steps back. "I'll take you to the capsule," she added then, flanking the boy. He was tall, his every step expressed confidence, even though he was just a teenager. And his eyes ... there was something sad about them ...

Bulma glanced over his shoulder, eyeing the warriors lined up on the edge of the track. In her pocket, the medicine for Goku's heart weighed like a rock. She would keep it until his return.

"So ... thanks for the hospitality" said the boy "I'll be back when you have to fight against the Cyborgs"

Bulma nodded. You already said that. She looked at him for a long time, trying to memorize as many details as possible about his face. So that's what it's like to become a parent: to love someone you've never seen before. A person who in some ways remembers you ... and in others not ...

The boy looked down, embarrassed by her examination. "So, goodbye," he said, starting to climb into the drop ship. Bulma grabbed his arm, holding him back.

"Do you… do you like your name?" she murmured in a voice so low it was hardly audible. "Or do you prefer that I choose something else"

The boy looked at her, looking for the first-time fewer years than perhaps he really was. He started to deny when she slipped the results of the DNA test into his hand. He read the paper quickly.

_Which teenager can read the results of such a complex exam? I at his age ... and now my son..._

"No." he murmured, crumpling the paper and putting it in his pocket. "That ... whatever you choose will be fine," he whispered.

Bulma nodded softly. She could feel the warriors' gaze on her back. She knew they were watching them, but she hoped only Piccolo would be able to hear what they were saying.

"I built it, right?"

The boy remained silent, embarrassed shifting the weight of his body from one foot to the other. He had already explained to her that revealing too many details could have deflected the course of time even more unpredictably, but she had to know. From what she had guessed her reality was already very different from all the others.

"Yes, you did it"

Bulma nodded again in the affirmative. I suspected it. If it wasn't me, the only other alternative was my father.

"There's another thing ..." she murmured "I already know Goku's fate."

He will die of heart disease if he does not take the medicine as soon as he has symptoms, but there is something else I do not understand ...

Bulma looked him in the eye… those eyes so similar to hers.

"In how many other timelines did your father survive?"

The boy suddenly looked down. Fists clenched along the hips.

"One ... only one ..."

_And it wasn't yours, was it?_

Bulma took a deep breath. "Okay, then we should keep him alive in this one too." She squeezed his shoulder briefly in a reassuring gesture, before taking a few steps back. "You can go now, take care"

_Don't worry, honey. Everything will be fine; I swear to you._

_***_

The revelation of the boy from the future had somewhat calmed and agitated her for two completely different reasons: she knew that Vegeta had survived the fight with Freeza and that he was heading to Earth.

_Unless our son does not exist here…._

And she knew that in three years she would have to find a way to save his life.

Bulma exhaled deeply. She had spent whole nights considering multiple variations of the timeline, expressing them in complex equations.

 _In addition to all the work for Capsule Corp._ , she obviously thought sadly looking at the pile of documents that required her signature.

"Earth? Hey there"

Bulma jumped, spilling some coffee on the counter and on her hand. "Fuck" she mumbled, blowing on it.

"Hey there! Can you hear me?"

Bulma sat down at the desk, putting on the earphones and bringing the microphone to her mouth. A strange sensation in the mouth of the stomach.

“We hear you. Identify yourself. " she replied, typing the keys to complete the scan around Earth. They have not yet entered the atmosphere. I still can't see them with radar.

A slightly silly laugh. “Um… it's me! Goku! Can you hear me?"

Bulma swallowed hard, letting herself lean against the back of her chair. The microphone dangled limply between her fingers.

A noise of commotion and a yelp of pain from Goku. “Leave it to me, you idiot, before they shoot us. Spaceship H8896. We plan to enter the exosphere between ... let me check, moron."

Bulma brought the microphone to her mouth. She wanted to scream and jump… and at the same time she was fucking scared.

"Vegeta," she whispered. The noises of struggle on the other side immediately ceased. She cleared her throat, realizing that she had begun to tremble. “You are… now I see you on the radar. You are a little off course. I am sending you the coordinates to adjust the landing angle."

She listened to the silence on the other side, almost managing to see Vegeta standing.

"Is dead? You are fine?"

"Yup. I'll see you soon."

_One thing must be credited to him: he is a man of few words._

Bulma exhaled deeply, closing the communication. "Welcome home, guys," she whispered to the empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we changed the setting, back to earth and back to the more canon timeline.  
> See you soon!


	10. CHAPTER 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not long before the end of the story. Two more chapters and the epilogue ... If you like, leave a kudos or a comment. Thanks :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read the story so far. I hope you enjoy the new chapter :-)

_You're an idiot_ , she thought, quickly running her fingers through the hair. She pulled down the edge of her shirt which was always too short, wishing she had had time to change clothes. Since Goku's spacecraft appeared on the radar, Bulma had had just over ten minutes to warn the other warriors of their friend's return, arrange health safety measures.

Because we don't want a fucking alien virus on Earth

and above all to tell her mother that they would have guests for dinner. A change of outfit had been impossible. She gave the final instructions to Gohan and Chi-Chi on keeping distance and not running towards Goku and then activated the body scanners and the drones to sanitize the spacecraft. As soon as the sanitization was completed the hatch opened revealing the smiling figure of Goku. Behind him another warrior immersed in the gloom.

Bulma crossed her arms across the chest, feeling her heart pound in the throat. He was more massive, so much that he seemed taller. The tanned skin, the inevitable frown. He was wearing armor, as if expecting an ambush at any moment. If he had noticed her presence, he had not shown it, continuing to pull off an expression that could range from bored to pissed off.

"A boy from the future!" Krillin was yelling, gesturing widely.

Bulma forced a smile. “We have a lot to tell you,” she said, taking a step closer to Goku. Gohan had rested his head on his father's, curled up against him, as if he were a small child.

“You can use the guest apartments to take a shower and rest. In the meantime, you can go… ”she said, as Krillin sowed clothes all over the place running half naked towards the pool.

_I would say that they have found a way to entertain themselves until dinner time._

Bulma escorted the travelers to the guest wing, without daring to intercept Vegeta's gaze with hers. They were suddenly two strangers. She mechanically told Goku that they could stay as long as they wanted, that she had prepared some clean clothes, that she was glad he was back. Her whole body was incredibly aware of Vegeta's presence a few meters away from her. "See you at dinner," she said, before continuing down the hall. A tingling between the shoulder blades, where Vegeta's gaze was focused.

_Say something, girl._

She nibbled the inside of her cheek, holding the breath for a moment. _Of course, Vegeta loves small talk to fill the silences._ She opened the door to one of the largest and most luxurious rooms, unable to catch his eye.

_Maybe he didn't even recognize me… or maybe he doesn't care… after all why should he? We fucked a couple of times a few months ago. It's not like… it meant anything. Maybe in a couple of months we get drunk, spend the night together and oops, here's Trunks, the traveller between worlds._

"There are ..." she said, when Vegeta grabbed her arm and dragged her inside. The impact with the closed door caught her breath in her throat. Bulma barely registered his gaze, shadowy and intense, before Vegeta's mouth sought hers for a long kiss.

 _Then he remembers something of what happened between us_ , she thought. Vegeta's mouth ran down her neck in a rough caress. His hands sneaked under her clothes, claiming her bare skin.

Bulma sighed with pleasure arching back, her arms wrapped around the warrior's neck, her breasts pressed against the hard metal of the armor.

"Take off ..." she sobbed, while he opened her shorts and slipped a hand inside her underwear. Expert fingers caressed her.

_You've been on Earth for less than five minutes and you already have a hand in my panties._

She smiled faintly against his mouth before he pulled away to look at her. Each time Bulma was amazed at how, no matter how indifferent he seemed, he could catch every slightest variation in her mood or thoughts. She just shook her head, touching his cheek with her fingertips. She studied his face for a moment, then slowly lowering her hand along his jaw. The hands Vegeta motionless on his body.

She rubbed against him, nibbling the base of his neck. She moved slowly up to his ear, taking a deep breath of his scent.

_I love how you make me feel ... you can kill me, make me do what you want ... yet you always make sure that I feel safe in your presence ... that I can take control of what we are doing ..._

"Fuck me, Saiyan ..." she whispered, undoing his trousers, the shadow of a smile hovering over her mouth.

She let out a surprised moan as he yanked her shorts and underwear off her hips. She freed one leg, holding on to his neck as he lifted her with one arm.

She arched her back back, her breath coming out in rapid gasps as Vegeta pushed inside her.

_You should have ... at least taken off your armor ..._

_Your skin, I want to feel it… I want to feel your body on me._

Bulma sobbed loudly. Fingers gripping locks of his hair. Vegeta's movements became more and more frenetic, his fingers sinking into her side.

_I needed this… I didn't realize how much I needed it until now._

Bulma cried out, hugging him, looking for more… she would offer him all that was hers to have more in that moment. And Vegeta was ready to give it to her… to give her whatever her body needed. Bulma screamed again incoherent words, Vegeta's palm went to cover her mouth, while her whole body shook and arched against him. She felt him push deeper into her, a growl came out from the depths of his chest, as he reached the height of pleasure.

She stood with her head leaning against the door, her eyes turned to the ceiling, her body pleasantly shocked and decidedly unconscious of her surroundings.

"Fuck, woman ..." Vegeta whispered, removing his hand from her mouth. Breath broken. "Do you want everyone to hear you?"

Bulma gave a chuckle, sinking her face into the hollow between the neck and shoulder and wrapping her legs around his waist. She settled better against him, feeling incredibly languid. The fingers touched the sensitive nape of his neck. Vegeta's scent, only slightly muffled by the metallic smell of his armor.

She'd almost expected him to throw her out of the room, but the warrior seemed inexplicably tolerating her post-coitus exhaustion. She rubbed her nose against his jaw as Vegeta crossed the room without putting her back on the ground. He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

_No ... I don't want to lose contact with your body ..._

She just tightened her grip on his neck, protesting as he tried to put her down.

_I don't want… I don't want to walk away… whatever you have to do, you can do it with me holding on here. I won't bother._

Bulma blinked a few times as Vegeta let out a grunt that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. His lips barely touching her forehead.

"I'll fuck you again, but now I need a shower ... and you too ..." he decreed, abruptly detaching her from him.

Bulma blinked a few times in disorientation, her body suddenly orphaned by Vegeta's heat. She watched him turn his back and start undressing. Fabric and metal dotted the floor. She bit the inside of her cheek. She was wearing only the shirt and a flip flop. She wasn't sure where she had lost the rest of her clothes.

_Probably on the way to the bathroom._

She stood still, watching Vegeta enter the shower. His muscular body crossed by paths of water. The shoulders and arms without any trace of tension. She quickly undressed, stepping into the shower with him, not quite sure this was what the warrior wanted.

 _I want to be with you_ , she thought, placing a light kiss on Vegeta's shoulder and letting herself be dragged under the water.

"It's cold! You're crazy "she protested, turning the hot water knob. Bulma narrowed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the water, the warmth of Vegeta's hands on her hips. His gaze ran languidly over her body.

 _Do you like what you see, warrior_? she thought, moving slowly against him, still sore from what had happened just before. She touched his chest with her fingers, lingering over a long, lacerated wound, recently healed.

_What happened with Freeza? What did he do to you?_

Vegeta pulled her hand away. His gaze escaped hers. The jaw barely contracted.

_You won't open up to me, will you? Sometimes you let a glimpse of something, but then you go back to withdrawing into yourself._

_You're in control ... I can't get close, I can't see unless you want to ... I just occasionally catch you with your guard down and then you get pissed off ... and since it's not enough to piss yourself off for letting me in, you angry with me too ..._

“Leave it to me,” she said, squeezing a generous dose of shower gel into her palm. Vegeta just raised an eyebrow, suspicious, but he stands still when she starts soaping him.

_It's too intimate for you, isn't it? Too little connected with sex to accept it._

"Lower your head a little ..." she ordered him, then running her fingers through his hair. Vegeta's arms dropped to his sides. The shoulders back in tension. Legs steady, as if making a sudden snap.

_Yet you remain petrified, waiting for the torture to end ..._

"Tilt your head back a little so I can rinse the shampoo out of your hair"

Vegeta obeyed, narrowing his eyelids. Bulma smiled, stroking his shoulders slowly and then moving down his arms. Am I an enemy? It looks like you are ready to kill me ...

She leaned towards him, brushing his lips in a light kiss. She smiled faintly, Vegeta's erection pressing against her lower abdomen.

_There is a part of you, however, that always betrays you ..._

She closed her fist on him, ripping a snarl from his throat. He began to move it slowly, claiming his mouth in a long kiss.

“I expect to be satisfied over and over again, Saiyan. It's been endless months… ”she blew against his ear.

_I don't care if you know I've been waiting for you._

_You can… you can do what you want to me, but I need to hear from you… I need to know that you are here now._

Bulma groaned as Vegeta wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her roughly against him. He kissed her.

"You don't know how long it was ..." he sighed surprising her, before pushing her against the shower wall.

***

"Why did you take a shower in the middle of the day, honey?" her mother chirped, taking a lock of her still damp hair between her fingers.

Bulma froze the glass in midair, trying to simultaneously ignore Piccolo's grunt, Yamcha's injured yelp and Vegeta's glare.

"Yes, Bulma… why did you take a shower in the middle of the day?" Krillin grinned, sticking an elbow into Yamcha's side.

"Shut up, dwarf," she hissed, as her mother fluttered in Goku's direction to fill his plate for the sixth time.

They had told Goku and Vegeta about the bizarre encounter with the boy from the future and the nefarious facts he had told them ... the androids, the destroyed Earth ...

The only topic that was not touched upon was Goku's heart disease. Bulma preferred to be alone with her friend. He didn't know what he would prefer to tell Chi-Chi and Gohan.

All the warriors felt a mixture of elation and fear… perhaps more exaltation, for the anticipation of a new confrontation. Everyone except Vegeta, who had received the news with apparent detachment, continuing to eat everything that Earth's cuisine had to offer him. Someone had asked Goku the details of the fight with Freeza. The friend shrugged, saying he had reached a new level of energy ... something called Super Saiyan. He had given a demonstration to everyone, sparking his power and transforming himself into a blue-eyed, blond-haired warrior.

Bulma avoided looking at Vegeta, sensing his mood. It spread like waves of negativity.

The warriors had thrown into an intense discussion, until Chi-Chi had slammed her fists on the table, saying she was sick of hearing about broken bones. Bulma silently thanked her as she poured herself a glass of wine.

Silence had fallen over the table, until Krillin had ventured an attempt at conversation. "So ... how did the months of traveling with Vegeta in the spacecraft go?"

Goku let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Well ... it was three ..." he replied, before suddenly stopping. Bulma caught a glance exchange between him and Vegeta, something that was not to be said. She wondered briefly what it was, before Goku laughed nervously again.

"We trained a lot ... but we had that problem ..."

Bulma frowned. "Did the spacecraft have technical problems?"

Goku let out his nervous chuckle again. "Not exactly," he replied, pouring himself a copious ration of rice. "It was a ... er ... logistical problem"

“Logistic? I don't understand, all systems ... "

"You only made one bed, woman," Vegeta growled. His face was completely red with shame and anger. Bulma stared at him for a moment, not fully realizing his words.

One…

Krillin threw his head back and burst out laughing, beating his fists on the table, followed by all the others.

***

She had considered going back to her room, but Vegeta had covered both of them with sheets. His fingertips lazily stroked her back. She had crouched beside him, her naked body adhering to the Saiyan's. She felt sleepy and pleasantly sore, but her mind didn't seem to want to find rest.

_They had no technical problems. So… why did it take them so long?_

_You should have returned to Earth more than two months ago. Then why?_

Bulma changed position slightly, feet continued to move restlessly. One thought kept escaping her. The pieces of the puzzle were all there, but she couldn't focus.

Vegeta sighed, his hand running down her spine. “Sleep, woman. Tomorrow you have to start building a new training room. "

Bulma opened her eyes, suddenly awake. She wondered if he could sense that her heart had started beating faster.

"W-what?"

"I need something more powerful if I want to reach Super Saiyan level."

Vegeta hesitated for a few seconds, his fingers were immobilized on her back. The breathing had perceptibly changed pace. A slight tension emanated from him like an electric current.

"Three years go by quickly," he added in a slightly lower voice.

Bulma remained silent to process the too much information that Vegeta had suddenly given her.

_So… you want to stay. You won't ask me if you can stay. But I feel it… I feel that you are agitated, that you are waiting for me to fill the voids and the silences._

_This is the game with you: I expose myself, I take risks and you take cover in your silences ..._

_But it is only an illusion. You don't risk not getting hurt just because you remain silent. Just because you pretend you don't feel certain things._

She touched his chest with one hand, placing a light kiss on his jaw. "I'm glad you're staying ... for as long as you want," she whispered, feeling him relax under her touch.

A thought entered her mind for a moment, but it was soon swept away by sleep.


	11. CHAPTER 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone
> 
> here we are at the penultimate chapter, It will be a bit short but it will be the link for the next fanfic ... I won't spoil you more than that and I let you read the chapter!

"I know, Yamcha" she repeated for the umpteenth time, taking off her welding mask. She ran an arm across her forehead, shielding herself from the sun. It was unusually hot that year. Bulma put a couple of tools in the box before heading to the locker room she used when she needed to change her overalls. She washed her hands, feeling the sudden change in temperature on her skin.

"And are you okay with that?"

Bulma exhaled deeply. She dried her hands, then rubbed the rag over her neck. “Yes, Yamcha. I'm fine with that,” she replied more crossly than she had intended.

She and Yamcha had remained friends, a strange kind of friends ... where one of the two always felt a little guilty for not being able to love the other and the other felt guilty for being bitter for no reason. She motioned for him to turn around and changed quickly by throwing the dirty overalls into one of the laundry baskets. She quickly put on a pair of comfortable pants and a clean shirt, reviving her hair.

"He said he'll be back in time for the cyborgs," she added, leading him to the garden.

In reality he didn't say it. He made no promises. It would have been terribly out of character for him to do it. I saw him darken day after day, frustration spreading through his veins like a toxic substance.

_He hardly slept anymore, too obsessed with becoming Super Saiyan and one day I just said what he couldn't say: if it hadn't happened like this yet, it probably wouldn't have happened._

_The only way was to change an element in the equation._

_He didn't need to say he was leaving. He did it._

_Late at night, without saying anything ... because it's safer that way for him. Because in this way he feels he has put himself less at stake. He has less to lose. He has been away for months, without communicating. If he was worried about me he never showed it._

Bulma glanced at the window of the room they shared. It wasn't their room, because her things were all left in her old room and Vegeta ...

_Vegeta never had anything. He left it all behind, I've never been to his apartment in Freeza's base, but here ... here he arrived with nothing but the spacecraft and what he was wearing. In the months he lived on Earth, he never demanded anything… no clothes more than strictly necessary, any kind of memory… nothing that couldn't be abandoned._

She shivered slightly, running her hands over her arms. Including me.

_I know he's back on Earth, so he should have become a Super Saiyan. I know he came back because he was here one night ... the night I told him to be careful ... and he ... made love to me slowly, discovering my body as if it were the first time ..._

_And I believed, for a moment._

_I asked him to stay. He did not answer. He hardly ever does._

Bulma smiled when she saw part of the completely pulverized box net. A toy shipped to the top of a tree.

_He went to see the baby before he left. So naive to think I wouldn't have noticed._

_He does not know that I have installed a video camera in the child's room for fear that he will set the house on fire. He had stopped beside the cot. A hand reached out to him, as if he wanted to caress him or pick him up, but then he froze._

_It didn't matter that no one was seeing him. He had already broken some of his rules just by going there. He turned and went out. It's been almost a month since that night and I have no idea where he is, how much he's killing himself… I could find him if I wanted, but I… I can't hunt him down._

_I want him to come back because he wants to._

She took Trunks in her arms, gasping for a moment when the child looked at her with that particular look of his. A blue expanse rippled by the seriousness of Vegeta's expression.

She placed a fingertip in the middle of his eyebrows and pressed lightly, as if to erase the worry. The boy was serious for a moment before bursting out laughing, trying to grab her finger.

Bulma lifted him in her arms, making a half turn, while Trunks screamed in jubilation.

Yamcha sat down in one of the armchairs and poured a glass of lemonade. He had become more sophisticated, abandoning combat uniforms for elegant suits. He had opened a number of gyms and became a fitness guru.

Bulma smiled faintly, putting Trunks back down and going to sit too.

“Thanks,” she said, covering Yamcha's hand with hers. He looked up from his cell phone in surprise.

_it's not easy for you. Still, you don't make the hardest judgments about Vegeta. You always try to help me, not judge me. It means a lot to me._

Bulma slowly shook her head and started to say something else when the Capsule Corp. alarm started going off. Bulma picked up Trunks, hugging him protectively. Yamcha at his side.

"Something landed within ten kilometers without authorization"

She was petrified with shock as Yamcha took off her jacket and flew southeast, telling her to lock herself in Capsule Corp.

Bulma shook herself from the shock quickly and ran to her old motorcycle, tucking Baby Trunks into a baby carrier. The little boy shrieked with joy at the realization that they were about to go for a ride on a motorcycle. Bulma patted him over the shoulder before starting the engine.

_I have a bad feeling._

She turned the throttle fully and took off feeling the wind in her hair. She mused darkly that perhaps she should have put a helmet on the child when she saw a golden glow, something that couldn't exist like this in the middle of nowhere. Bulma slowed down as she identified Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha ...

She shifted her gaze to Vegeta, cloaked in a golden aura, blonde hair. A cruel grin on his face as he faced the teenage version of Trunks. Bulma pulled her lips into a thin line. Trunks ... the adult Trunks, from another timeline, had returned from the future, as he had promised. He had literally appeared out of nowhere, so the instruments hadn't detected him until he hit the ground.

Bulma looked at him closely, catching similarities with Vegeta that she hadn't noticed on the previous visit. The frown ... the same frown as your father, but the look ... the look is human.

She got off the bike, feeling Vegeta's energy whipping all around, as just before a storm. Baby Trunks let out a small moan.

_Sorry, baby. Your father is truly an idiot, who must always show that he has the biggest aura._

Bulma lifted her chin a little, walking quickly. The boots raised small clouds of dust as she sped towards Vegeta. She heard Yamcha yell at her but ignored it.

"And why should we trust you?" the Saiyan was barking when she stepped in front of him. Vegeta bared his teeth in a snarl, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Stop it, Vegeta," she ordered him. I am so mad at you. You always manage to give your worst in crucial situations. Is this how your child gets to know you?

Vegeta tensed as if he were about to snap. Bulma didn't know whether to protect her, attack the boy or just blow everyone up because they were bothering him. "Stay out of it, woman," he hissed, the vein on his temple throbbing with anger.

He will not give up, not until the truth has passed over him like a train. Bulma just shook her head, taking a deep breath. She glanced at the adult Trunks silently apologizing.

_I know, I should have prepared you better for the first meeting with your father… or I should have prepared him better… or maybe I should have put some sleeping pill in his breakfast and locked him up somewhere._

"Come on, honey, show him," Bulma sighed, waving her hand. She ignored Vegeta's growl, a growl that looked suspiciously like _honey?_ when Trunks gave her a little nod, quickly transforming into Super Saiyan.

_There you have it, better than any DNA test, which I did anyway._

Bulma grabbed Baby Trunks by the armpits, lifting him in front of Vegeta's face. "Does he remind you of anyone?" she told him, immediately withdrawing the baby, that he had started to cry. “Vegeta, you are a monster! You made him cry again! You have to stop looking at him like that, ”she screamed, clutching the baby to her chest.

She calmed him down as Krillin said something like "Hey, Vegeta, did you piss off Bulma?"

She turned back to the Trunks of the future.

_You grew up._ She bit her lower lip, watching him carefully.

_My heart is about to burst_. Bulma reached out and brushed a lock of hair from his face. _You are so tall, so beautiful… and brave_. "Welcome back, baby," she whispered.

He folded his lips in a half smile that cleared his expression. The similarities with Vegeta's grumpy character suddenly disappeared, as if a ray of sunshine had appeared in the middle of the storm.

"Hello Mom".

***

She entered Vegeta's room like a fury, throwing herself at him. She had told him he was a goddamn idiot, she had told him to be an asshole with her if he had the courage ... Vegeta had remained motionless, gently blocking her wrists only when she had run the risk of getting hurt by throwing her fists on his chest.

Bulma had struggled and he had let her go. She pushed him onto the bed and kissed him with anger and passion. They frantically undressed, their mouths still searching for each other, needy hands caressing hot skin, dancing on a fine line between pleasure and pain.

Bulma had sobbed against his lips, holding on to him ... hating him for insinuating himself so deeply inside her ... a poison that had now become part of her ...

She tilted her head back, moving on him. With Vegeta it was always so… inevitable. She sobbed his name as he put his arm around her waist and laid her on the mattress. She dug her fingers into his back as Vegeta sank deeper into her.

_If I can figure out how to keep you alive, I want a normal relationship._

She took a deep breath, brushing her damp hair from her forehead. Vegeta's hand lazily abandoned on his abdomen, his fingertips drumming in a barely held tension.

_Yes, alien, I'm pissed again._

She turned to the side, looking at him. Vegeta tried to turn away from her, but she sat on him, forcing him to hold her gaze. He barely let out a groan of protest as she imprisoned his wrists beside his head.

"Are you going to say something?" she asked him.

_You can't expect me to make up for your silences again._

"What do you want me to say?" Vegeta replied. Even though he wanted to look away with every single fiber of his being, he didn't.

"My name," she whispered, feeling him getting aroused under her again. Bulma barely moved her hips, snatching a soft sigh.

"Bulma," Vegeta whispered, starting to sit up, but she held him down with light pressure.

"Say it again," she whispered, still moving on him as Vegeta repeated his name in a groan. Bulma licked her lips, letting her hands slide over his. Their fingers intertwined as she slid him back into her. They made love slowly with a desperation Bulma hadn't felt since leaving Namek ... since he'd gone to fight Freeza ... when she didn't know if she'd ever see him again.

She let herself go on him, pushing her face into the crook of his neck. Vegeta's arms surrounded her. She touched his chest, pausing the palm at heart level. You can lie to me in words ... but your body can't. I feel you are tense.

"I want you to tell me that you will come back to me"

You don't have to tell me, looking me in the eye. You just have to say it ...

Vegeta let out a snort, nevertheless not attempting to break free from her embrace. "Please," she added in a whisper.

"I've always done it, haven't I?" he replied gruffly. His fingers continued to caress her bare back in a gentle caress. "Would it make it truer if I said it out loud?"

_No, it wouldn't make it any truer. You could die ... you could still go away, because there is nothing here that interests you ... But you won't, will you? You won't do it because there are things you simply can't do ..._

Bulma sat up and was about to go to her room, but Vegeta pulled her back against him. His fingers in her hair. He put his mouth to her ear and said it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end of the chapter! If you like, leave me a comment or a kudos please :-)


	12. CHAPTER 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate chapter before the epilogue!   
> In this chapter there is some clue to the next story.   
> Now I do not dwell too much with the chat and let you read the chapter

Bulma rapidly dressed in the dark. She knew that Vegeta was a light sleeper and must have already sensed she was up, but she hoped he would keep pretending to sleep.

She slipped out of the room, zipping up the Capsule Corp's oversized hoodie. She walked to Trunks' room, finding him awake.

"Did you prepare what I asked you?"

Trunks nodded, handing her a notepad. Bulma nodded her head negatively, without catching it.

"It's better that I don't read it" she said, preceding him down the stairs. Capsule Corp. was unusually quiet except for the low hum of the servers.

She typed a code on the door, which gave them access to a private part of the laboratory. Bulma turned on the lights, which illuminated a completely empty room, the walls were a luminescent white, except for one covered with red marker writing.

"It is a function that expresses all the variables of this timeline" she explained, stopping with her arms crossed next to her son.

"I wrote down all the events that could have any bearing on Vegeta's survival," she added. “Now… we must transform the main events of the other eight parallel realities into mathematical language. You will assign a variable to each one, which combined with the others will lead us to the solution we already know "

_That is whether Vegeta survived or not._

She exhaled deeply, clapping her hands. "Okay, let’s start!"

*

"Honey, don't you want to come to dinner?"

She had lost count of the times her mother had come down to ask if she would like to go up to eat and each time she had regretted not soundproofing the room.

At one point she simply stopped or perhaps she no longer heard the calls.

Bulma rested her forehead on her intertwined fingers. She didn't even have leg and stomach cramps anymore. Her brain had annihilated any need, any condition of reality other than the one strictly connected to numbers and mathematical variables. She saw functions appearing to her in the darkness of her mind, changing and canceling themselves in patterns that only she could visualize.

_Come on, girl. In a parallel future, you have designed a time machine. Your son said it was the project of your life, but you did it ... you can solve this too ..._ _I know you can do it ..._

Bulma felt her breathing slow down, her mind being dragged down, into a dark place where the laws of the known world changed, where everything was questioned.

“Woman, what the hell are you doing in there? You haven't been out for two days "

There is something wrong. Something that doesn't make sense ...

"Dad, don't come in"

_Why ..._

"Open this damn door or I'll break it down"

_Why is math lying to me?_

Bulma suddenly opened her eyes, looking at the front panel. Every farthest corner of the walls was covered with mathematical equations written in red.

_I assumed that the variables of my reality were true, but if they weren't… if a variable was false… if it were wrong as we have interpreted it._

"What the fuck happened in here?"

She knew that Vegeta had broken into the laboratory, followed by her son, but they couldn't reach her where she was.

_Vegeta… he is the crazy variable in this function._

Bulma shivered slightly. Pieces of memory and intuition merged into an epiphany.

_I took it for granted ... I knew there was something wrong and I was almost there, but then the thought slipped away. The timing didn't match… it had taken them too long to defeat Freeza and come back… unless they made a detour._

_I saw that at some point the daily oxygen consumption had dropped, only…._

Bulma exhaled deeply, noises of struggle behind her ... but they were distant, as if muffled.

_I should have known before Freeza killed Vegeta. That's why it took them so long to get back._

_Goku went to Namek and waited for the Dragon Balls to be active again to bring him back to life ..._

"Dad, wait"

The truth spread like the waves of a nuclear bomb, involving all functions.

The variables lit up, coming to life, while reality took on another meaning… Bulma saw it change before her eyes… different realities that came to life through mathematical codes.

She got up on shaking legs and walked to the wall. With his fist he canceled a variable and reshaped everything to arrive at the only possible result ...

_Vegeta survives._

She took a step back, staring at the wall for a moment, before drawing a few symbols in one corner.

_It doesn't have the charm of E = mc², but it works._

"Trunks" Bulma called to him, tapping the last symbol with the marker. Trunks ran his eyes quickly over everything, before taking the notebook from his jacket pocket. He consulted several pages and then nodded, looking at her.

Bulma was amazed at how incredibly young her son could look. She felt a feeling of pure love towards him as her legs suddenly gave out and Trunks grabbed her to keep her from falling to the ground.

_Keep him alive. The variable has yet to happen._

She clung to her son's shoulder, leaning against him and looking up at Vegeta.

_The scar on your chest, the one you didn't want me to touch as soon as you returned to Earth..._

"You're a bastard, Vegeta," she whispered, then letting her son carry her out of the room.

***

Bulma moved slowly, her head throbbing with pain.

She sat up with a groan. The room was illuminated by the expectant light that just preceded dawn. For a moment Bulma wondered how long she had slept and if the battle with the androids had not already begun. She consulted her watch, realizing that it would start in a few hours.

Bulma put on something comfortable and went down to the kitchen with the intention of eating something.

She smiled as she saw Vegeta, who was preparing what looked like a giant sandwich. She approached him without saying anything and turned on the coffee machine.

"Thanks," she mumbled as he handed her a cup. Bulma wanted to yell at him, punch him… but she just couldn't.

_Not before the coffee._

Bulma ran a hand over her face, looking out the window. She remained motionless for a few seconds, only stirring when Vegeta placed the empty plate in the sink.

_And without coffee it is._

"Why didn't you tell me that Freeza killed you?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why didn't you tell me that I died in all other timelines except one and you were looking for a way to save my life?"

Bulma opened her mouth ready to give a lot of good reasons, but she couldn't think of anything. Bulma hesitated for only a moment, before closing her mouth with a snap. Vegeta just raised a victorious eyebrow, as if to emphasize her silence.

“You lied to me… by omission… but you lied to me. I don't want any secrets between us”.

“I don't want any secrets between us. How long have you kept it from me that the boy of the future is Trunks? "

_Touché, Bulma._

“How long have you known about Kakarot's heart disease? And let's not forget about the H2 sector project, I think it's called break the ass of the androids in case Vegeta doesn't make it, right?

You've put a part of Capsule Corp. to work on some kind of virus to infect them in case we can't kill them ... or am I wrong? When were you going to tell me about that? "

Bulma didn't think she'd ever, ever heard him say so many words in a row. She cringed against the kitchen counter, suddenly regretting having started the conversation.

“Because if I'm keeping something from you, I'm a bastard. If you do it, you do it for the good of humanity "

"Er ..." she muttered, looking for a way out.

_How is it possible that now I am the villain of our relationship? Well ... he ... he ... he can't win._

"At least I told you the most important thing" she retorted, raising her chin in a defiant Vegeta stared at her for a few seconds, his brows frowning in a worrying expression.

"No it is not true. I said I love you. "

Bulma pursed her lips in a surprised expression. “You… you just said yes. I told you very quietly ... while you were sleeping. But I know you heard me and the next day you even pretended nothing happened! "

"You're out of your mind, woman," Vegeta replied, picking up the gloves from the counter. He was about to slip them on when she took him by the arm, approaching him.

_I don't want you to go away like this. Our last words spoken in anger ..._

She encircled his neck with her arms, making her body adhere to him. The light fingers on the back of his neck. Vegeta hugged her back, his face buried in her hair.

_I'm sorry. Sometimes there is an uncontrollable escalation between us and we end up forgetting the important things._

She stepped back to kiss him slowly, a kiss that tasted of nostalgia. She rested her forehead against his, enjoying the warmth of his embrace.

_Don't get killed, Vegeta. Please. Trunks will protect you with what he knows._

_You promised you'd be back, so ..._

"Don't let anything happen to him," she whispered into his mouth.

_Please, Vegeta. Protect yourself, protect our child ... do anything ..._

Vegeta kissed her deeply, his hands gently stroking her back. He barely touched her forehead with his lips before loosening her from his embrace. He said nothing before leaving. He never did.

Bulma leaned on the kitchen island. Eyes clouded with tears. She blinked a few times, focusing on the red cup, which Vegeta habitually used.

_He came here without taking anything of his old life with him. Only the clothes he was wearing ... Yet, now he has left something that is his, something to come back to ... his red cup._

Bulma smiled a little before bursting into tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!  
> If you like, leave a kudos or a comment ... you would make me happy :-)
> 
> See you soon!


	13. EPILOGUE

“Are you sure you can't stay a few more days?

Trunks threw the backpack inside the time travel capsule, shaking his head. "No, I have to go back to my timeline for a while. My mother sent me a message ... there is a problem with a Bulma from another dimension, "he said, turning back to her. He seemed to have grown since he arrived. Bulma stroked his long hair, wondering if she should have insisted more on cutting it.

"I like hair like that," Trunks added, almost reading her mind.

"You are very charming, honey," she assured him, suddenly feeling very old. She took a folded note from her pocket and handed it to the boy. “Pass it to the Bulma of the next dimension. You will know what to do. "

Trunks nodded, slipping the paper into one of the pockets of the Capsule Corp's jacket. He leaned towards her and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry he didn't come to say goodbye," Bulma whispered.

Trunks crushed her for a moment before letting go. A half-smile curled the corner of his mouth, making him look painfully like Vegeta. "And who said he didn't come?" he murmured.

Bulma forced herself not to check where Vegeta was, keeping her eyes on Trunks. She saw him climb into the drop ship and raise two fingers in greeting with his eyes pointed somewhere behind her. She took a few steps back, feeling the earth shake under her feet. After a moment the capsule was gone.

Bulma exhaled deeply, lifting her face to the clear sky. The scent of late spring in the air.

She just sighed, feeling Vegeta's hand on her back.

_I thought you were secretly leaving so as not to be seen._

She turned to him, lifting herself up on toes to kiss him lightly.

_What will you do now with no more enemies to fight? There is nothing that keeps you here ... A man with nothing, without roots, without purpose ... except me._

_Me and Trunks, can we be everything you've never had before?_

Bulma touched his jaw with her fingers.

"When can you get to work on the spacecraft?"

Bulma swallowed hard, looking him in the eye. "Are you going somewhere?"

Vegeta nodded slowly, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

“When I went into space to train and become Super Saiyan, I stopped in various places and in one of them I met an old friend of yours,” he said, grimacing at the word friend.

"An old friend of mine?" Bulma asked incredulously.

“An idiot who worked on Freeza's base. He was a training room technician, ”Vegeta cut him short.

"Maxx?"

Vegeta shrugged, classifying the information as irrelevant. "He told me that, after Freeza's death, they are building a collaborative network on an interplanetary level ... you know something to monitor the threats to freedom and blah blah blah ... They converted the Freeza base into a kind of consulate and since the Earth is currently well protected ... "

_I was a fool to think I was keeping you here._

Bulma smiled faintly.

_I thought I could tame a wild animal ..._

“It will take me a couple of days to equip it for the trip. How long did you think you were away? "

Vegeta made his palm adhere to her cheek, caressing it slowly. "It depends," he murmured. "How many vacations can you take from Capsule Corp.?"

Bulma felt her heart begin to beat faster. "What?"

"And then we should go back before the brat starts school ... not that he will need an earthly education anyway. I expect him to learn to speak at least five alien languages within four years "

"W-do you want us to go with you?"

“It seems obvious to me, woman. Do you know how difficult it is to find a decent mechanic out there? "

Bulma reached for his mouth with hers, kissing him deeply. She fell into his embrace, wondering what the Bulma and Vegetas of the other dimensions were doing, which roads they had traveled and which intersections they would cross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end of this story! I hope you enjoyed it, excited you, maybe it made you spend a pleasant evening.  
> Yes, there will be a sequel with a Bulma and a Vegeta from another timeline, although the Bulma and Vegeta who accompanied us in this story will be present, from time to time!  
> If you like it, leave me a comment.  
> See you soon!

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I have been writing for a long time. Maybe it was because of the lockdown, but I found myself writing pages and pages like I haven't had in years.  
> I thank all those who have placed their trust in me and who have reached the end of the first chapter.  
> I confirm, as anticipated by my beta-reader, that the story has ended ... or rather ended in Italian. I am translating it into English, and I apologize if the language is a bit woody or not perfect. I hope you want to give the next chapters an opportunity and if you want to leave me a comment.  
> Take care & stay safe.


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